Fig. 1

Cognitive and functional outcomes over 3 years of ChEI treatment. a Mean changes in MMSE score with 95 % CI from the start of ChEI therapy over 3 years according to the stage of AD. The SATS patients with moderate AD exhibited a better short-term cognitive outcome after 2 months (p <0.001) and 6 months (p = 0.003) of therapy. No significant difference was found between the two disease stages at the other evaluations. b Mean changes in ADAS-cog score with 95 % CI from the start of ChEI therapy over 3 years according to the stage of AD. The patients with mild AD showed a more positive longitudinal cognitive outcome from the 12-month assessment (p <0.001). c Mean changes in IADL score with 95 % CI from the start of ChEI therapy over 3 years according to the stage of AD. The patients with mild AD exhibited a better functional outcome after 12 months (p = 0.021). No significant difference was detected between the two disease stages at the other evaluations. d Mean changes in PSMS score with 95 % CI from the start of ChEI therapy over 3 years according to the stage of AD. The patients with mild AD showed a more favourable long-term outcome in basic ADL from the 6-month assessment (p <0.001). AD Alzheimer’s disease, ADAS-cog Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale—cognitive subscale, CI confidence interval, IADL Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale, MMSE Mini-Mental State Examination, PSMS Physical Self-Maintenance Scale