RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Occupational attainment influences survival in autopsy-confirmed frontotemporal degeneration
JF Neurology
JO Neurology
FD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
SP 2070
OP 2075
DO 10.1212/WNL.0000000000001595
VO 84
IS 20
A1 Massimo, Lauren
A1 Zee, Jarcy
A1 Xie, Sharon X.
A1 McMillan, Corey T.
A1 Rascovsky, Katya
A1 Irwin, David J.
A1 Kolanowski, Ann
A1 Grossman, Murray
YR 2015
UL http://n.neurology.org/content/84/20/2070.abstract
AB Objective: To examine the influence of occupational attainment and education on survival in autopsy-confirmed cases of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and Alzheimer disease (AD).Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of 83 demographically matched, autopsy-confirmed FTLD (n = 34) and AD (n = 49) cases. Each patient's primary occupation was classified and ranked. Level of education was recorded in years. Survival was defined as time from symptom onset until death. Linear regression was used to test for associations among occupational attainment, education, and patient survival.Results: Median survival was 81 months for FTLD and 95 months for AD. Years of education and occupational attainment were similar for both groups. We found that higher occupational attainment was associated with longer survival in FTLD but not AD.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that higher occupational attainment is associated with longer survival in autopsy-confirmed FTLD. The identification of protective factors associated with FTLD survival has important implications for estimates of prognosis and longitudinal studies such as treatment trials.AD=Alzheimer disease; CR=cognitive reserve; FTD=frontotemporal degeneration; FTLD=frontotemporal lobar degeneration