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Abstract. Accepting as founded the hypothesis of a multifactorial origin for the Alzheimer's disease (AD), we explore the possible links between the geographical distribution of AD cases according to their birth place and the geochemical profile of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (SLSJ) territory in the province of Quebec.The method used for factor analysis of correspondances (FAC) and another one based on the differences between the residential and municipal geochemical concentrations (DRMC) have been used for this purpose.The geochemical matrix of SLSJ relates the highest concentrations of nickel, copper and zinc to the sector surrounding the Jonqui~re municipality. Moreover, high concentration~ of iron, lead and manganese were found in the northern sector of the Lac Saint-Jean. The DRMC method corroborates this strong correlation between iron, lead and manganese. Furthermore, these concentrations do not differ from the north-american geochemical standards.No single geochemical element seems to be associate with the spatial distribution of cases. It is, however, still possible that a certain synergistic effect between two or several elements could be implied in the development of the disease. According to the results of the soil analysis, there does not seem to be any association between the spatial distribution of cases and the concentration of aluminum, a chemical element that has been thought to be implied in the etiology of AD. These results are compared with those obtained by other workers in the micronesian islands, where abnormally high frequencies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and parkinsonism dementia have already been observed. R6sum& Se fondant sur l'hypothbse d'une origine multifactorielle de la maladie d'Alzheimer (MA), nous explorons les liens possibles entre la r6partition g6ographique de sujets atteints selon le crit~re du lieu de naissance, et le profil g6ochimique du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (SLSJ) au Qu6bec. La m6thode de l'analyse factorielle des correspondances (AFC) et celle des diff6rences entre les concentrations g6ochimiques r6sidentielles et municipales (DCRM), ont 6t6 utilis6es/t cette fin.La matrice g6ochimique du SLSJ associe les plus fortes teneurs en nickel, cuivre et zinc au secteur avoisinant la municipalit6 de Jonqui~re. En outre, on relive des teneurs 616vees en fer, plomb et manganese qui correspondent principalement au secteur nord du Lac Saint-Jean. La m6thode des DCRM corrobore cette forte corr61ation entre le fer, le plomb et le manganese. D'autre part, ces concentrations ne divergent Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 72: 251-264, 1994. 9 1994 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. pas des concentrations g6ochimiques moyennes nord-am6ricaines.Aucun 61~ment g~ochimique unique ne semble s'associer ~ la r~partition spatiale des sujets. II demeure possible qu'un certain effet synergique entre deux ou plusiers 616ments soit impliqu~ dans le d~veloppement de la maladie. Aucune association n'appara~t quant fi la r6partition spatiale des sujets et les concentrations...

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