Identifying signs and symptoms preceding the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease: a retrospective medical record review

Background Early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is beneficial as interventions work well at this stage.

Aim The study sought to identify patterns in signs and symptoms as reported by patients, 10 years preceding the clinical diagnosis of AD and suggest a predictive model for the early detection of the disease.

Method A retrospective medical record review and nested case-control design were carried out on the charts of 109 individuals (37 cases and 72 in the control group) in three GP surgeries in Milton Keynes and Luton, diagnosed between the year 2006–2016. Data extracted included the demographic and clinical data (signs and symptoms preceding the diagnosis of the disease). Logistic regression and correlation coefficient was used for analysis of variables to identify patterns.

Results Auditory disturbances (tinnitus), a symptom that has not been reported in AD, could have a diagnostic value with 3.03 increased odds for associating with AD and a P-value of ≤0.05; the symptom was presented with a mean age of 14.5 years before the clinical diagnosis of the disease. There was a positive correlation between auditory disturbance and AD; episodic memory and AD; the female gender and AD all at 1% level (2tailed).

Conclusion Auditory disturbance in the form of tinnitus has not been fully investigated in AD apart from auditory hallucinations and, as this symptom has been associated with other conditions. While further research is advocated in a large scale due to the insufficiency of the sample to initiate subgroup analysis, the result suggests that auditory disturbance could be a confounding factor to support future plans to improve the early diagnosis of AD.