Cranial computed tomography associated with development of functional dependence in a community-based elderly population.

Objective: To investigate whether changes at computed tomography (CT) imaging in the ageing brain are associated with future risks for functional dependence.

Subjects: 160 residents aged 69 years and older at the cranial CT and were independently living in a rural community in Hokkaido, Japan.

Methods: Cranial CT was performed between 1991 and 1993, graded for ventricular enlargement, sulcal enlargement, white matter change, and small infarction.