Estimated Prevalence of People With Cognitive Impairment: Results From Nationally Representative Community and Institutional Surveys

Abstract

Estimates of the prevalence of cognitive impairment that are based on nationally representative data are rare, because comprehensively evaluating a national sample by using standard, validated cognitive-impairment assessment methods is difficult and expensive, and because most national surveys are broad based and designed to cover a wide variety of topics. Crude measures of cognitive impairment, such as the presence of confusion or memory loss or limitations caused by senility or dementia, that are included in these multipurpose surveys may be only rough proxies for clinically evaluated cognitive impairment, but they do appear to produce prevalence estimates that are similar to estimates found with the use of more precise case-ascertainment methods. These nationally representative data sets may be used to generate hypotheses related to the prevalence, epidemiology, and health care utilization patterns of people with cognitive impairment that can be tested in studies using more specific case-ascertainment criteria.

Tracking psychosocial health in adults with epilepsy—Estimates from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey

“…The significantly higher rates of self-reported cognitive impairment in adults with a history of epilepsy or those with inactive epilepsy support this point. Bernstein et al, found that the NHIS cognition item produced prevalence estimates of dementia similar to national estimates generated from studies designed to assess clinical dementia [25]. But, our results should be interpreted with caution because respondents with epilepsy might have associated the question phrase “periods of confusion” with seizures including the post-ictal period, leading to overestimates in cognitive impairment.…”

Cognitive findings of an exploratory trial of docosahexaenoic acid and lutein supplementation in older women

“…The prevalence of cognitive impairment increases exponentially with age from 1 in 10 individuals aged 65 years and over to as many as one-third of individuals by age 85 years. 1 The scope of the problem is expected to grow as the population ages, 2 making it imperative to identify factors, such as dietary compounds, which might lower the risk of cognitive impairment. The present study explores the possible benefit of dietary supplementation with two candidate compounds, namely docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and lutein, for enhancing cognition in older women.…”

Caregiver person-centeredness and behavioral symptoms during mealtime interactions: Development and feasibility of a coding scheme

“…1 Cognitive losses experienced by persons with dementia eventually lead to partial or complete loss of the ability to initiate or sustain attention to complex feeding tasks such as locating food, chewing and swallowing. 2 Persons with dementia also regularly experience behavioral symptoms, such as agitation, which occur more commonly during mealtimes and contribute to frequent disruptions in eating.…”