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I was curious after reading several articles about life expectancy for dementia. According to information I have seen, life expectancy seems to be very short compared to the cases I have seen in family members and family members of friends, etc. My aunt was diagnosed at 80 passed at 97. Another Aunt died at 99 after 16 years. My friends mom has had it for 14 years. I was wondering what others experience has been as far as age at time of diagnosis and how long the person has been living with it to this point. All the cases I have heard do not match up with the expectancy charts.

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My brother died only one and one half years after diagnosis. However, his death was unrelated to his diagnosis of probable early Lewy's dementia. So you can see that if you measure his short time against another's 16 years, it more or less averages out. Usually the senior's death is not listed as related to a dementia. It is rather called "age related" or "natural causes" or some underlying thing such as pneumonia or heart failure. So it is difficult to say. As with any illness, we are fed the "averages" that are spit out by a computer machine; they bear little resemblance to real life, imho.
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My Aunt showed clear symptoms of dementia in her late 80s and passed at almost 101 from a broken hip because she climbed out of bed forgetting she coudn't walk unassisted.

Please remember that it's mostly not dementia that ends their lives but all the other health issues that happen simultaneously (like diabetes, high blood pressure, CHF, CKD, cancer, malnutrition, etc.) This is why you mostly won't see "dementia" as cause of death on death certificates. It's mostly "failure to thrive" or "advanced age". My Aunt passed away while in the rehab facility (probably from a clot caused by her large bone break). Her death certificate said "advanced age" as COD.
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Onthehill Aug 22, 2024
Great info. My mom is on year 9 at 90 years old. In retrospect there were some distinct signs starting in 2016. She was officially diagnosed in the beginning of 2017. She doesn’t have diabetes or high blood pressure. She doesn’t need assistance walking either.
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Also to add, everyone is different, some decline fast, all of the sudden then stay steady for a long long time. There really is no rhyme or reason for this, for most.

Sometimes after having anistia, they decline, or after a trauma.

One lady I took care of, one of the caregivers accidently shut her hand in a car door, after that she declined fast.

This is everything I have seen anyways.

Best of luck ,🙏😔
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Onthehill Aug 22, 2024
Very interesting. Thank you!
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It of course will depend on what type of dementia one is diagnosed with as to the life expectancy.
Vascular dementia is the most aggressive with a life expectancy of just 5 years, whereas Lewy Body dementia's life expectancy is 5-7 years, and FTD's can be anywhere from 7-20 years, as can Alzheimer's.
And often someone can be diagnosed with more than one type of dementia, which of course will throw off the life expectancies.

My late husband was diagnosed with vascular dementia in July 2018, but was showing signs a good year prior, and he died in Sept. 2020.
I've had friends whose loved ones had Lewy Body dementia, and were dead within the 5-7 year time window.
And one gentleman in my support groups wife was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's in her 50's, and she lived for 21 years with it.
It's a horrible disease no matter what type one has, but I am grateful that my late husband had the most aggressive kind as he and I didn't have to suffer as long as some.
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Onthehill Aug 20, 2024
Thank you for your answer. I’m glad your husband didn’t suffer long. My mom is on year 7 at 90 years old. I believe the onset was about 3 years before her official diagnosis though. She has Alzheimer’s.
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