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© 2006 American Academy of Neurology Elderly-onset essential tremor is associated with dementiaFrom the Department of Neurology (J.B.-L.), Móstoles General Hospital, and Department of Neurology (F.B.-P.), University Hospital "12 de Octubre," Madrid, Spain; and G.H. Sergievsky Center and Department of Neurology (E.D.L.), College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. J. Benito-León, Avda. de la Constitución 73, portal 3, 7° Izquierda, E-28820 Coslada, Madrid, Spain; e-mail: jbenitol{at}meditex.es Objective: To determine whether essential tremor (ET) is associated with prevalent dementia. Methods: The authors identified all persons with dementia and ET in a population-based study in central Spain (the Neurological Disorders in Central Spain [NEDICES] Study). Dementia was diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) criteria.
Results: Thirty-one (11.4%) of 273 ET cases had dementia vs 204 (6.0%) of 3,382 non-ET subjects (controls) (odds ratio [OR] = 2.00, 95% CI = 1.34 to 2.98, p = 0.001). In a model that adjusted for age, stroke, and educational level, OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 0.87 to 2.18, and p = 0.17. In an adjusted model, ET cases with tremor onset after age 65 were 70% more likely to be demented than were controls (OR = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.04 to 2.76, p = 0.03), whereas ET cases with tremor onset at age Conclusions: Older-onset essential tremor (ET) was associated with dementia. Prospective studies are required to elucidate the association between ET and dementia.
*See the Acknowledgment for a list of Group members. NEDICES was supported by the Spanish Health Research Agency and the Spanish Office of Science and Technology. Dr. Louis is supported by NIH R01 NS042859 and R01 NS039422 (Bethesda, MD). Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest. Presented in part at the 57th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, Miami Beach, FL, April 9 through 16, 2005. Received October 27, 2005. Accepted in final form February 9, 2006.
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65 and controls were equally likely to be demented (OR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.09 to 1.73, p = 0.21). 
