Every research has it's limitations. The Researchers for the Incidence of Alzheimer's/Dementia in Japan bemoan small sample size. I note that a large proportion of the study was done in Rural areas, that I would think would have better diet, so lower incidence. I did read the whole report, with one eye, and found the Conclusions to be little different from what is already known. What we need is a unified, Worldwide criteria for diagnosing and then collecting and collating Dementia data. With a greatly ageing population this is not going away.

Regarding Causes of Death maps, the one plus point is they are the largest sample size by far - everyone dies of something. How to improve the figures? In the days of Technological Communication, open up everyone's Medical Records for Statistical Analysis upon death. Every incident of the major ailments eventually logged. I would not think to have this done before death, exploitation by Insurance Companies, Employers and Governments would be rife. Yep - Big Brother IS watching!

Dave.