Prevalence of Dementia Among the Elderly in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background Over the last decades, life expectancy in Latin America and the Caribbean showed a rapid increase, which led to a significant increase in the number of people with dementia. Moreover, 9% of the population in this part of the world are aged 65 or older, and by 2050 this percentage is projected to at least double. For this reason, it is essential to estimate the prevalence of dementia in LAC countries with the aim to determine suitable actions to enhance the quality of life of those affected. Methods Database searches for articles were conducted September 2020 throughout Pubmed, Web of knowledge, Scopus, Lilacs, and SciELO. The inclusion criteria comprised population- or community-based studies, published in English, Spanish, or Portuguese, reporting data on the prevalence of dementia collected in LAC countries. The complete data search retrieved 1719 non-duplicates. Results A total of 58 studies met the high-quality inclusion criteria, published 1991-2020, including participants in the following countries: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Ecuador, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica. The most common form of dementia studied was Alzheimer’s disease with prevalence ranging from 5.9% to 23.4%. Estimates differed by age, gender, and education, with oldest, women, and lower-educated adults living in rural areas presenting higher dementia prevalence. Conclusion This is the first study giving a comprehensive overview of dementia prevalence in LAC countries, which is relevant to estimate care needs and economic costs related to dementia treatment and care.

Changes in prevalence of cognitive impairment and associated risk factors 2000–2015 in São Paulo, Brazil

“…Recent studies from high-income countries suggest a stable or decreasing prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia in more recently born cohorts [6,47,48]. In contrast, our Brazilian SABE data findings suggest a higher proportion of participants with cognitive impairment in 2015 than 2000, which seems congruent to recent systematic reviews exploring the topic in Latin America and the Caribbean [10,11], and studies in Brazil [16,17].…”

“…However, the opposite pattern was observed in two systematic reviews evaluating the prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia in low-and middle-income countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The authors showed that more recently published studies showed a higher prevalence, both associated with higher age, being women, lower educational levels, and living in rural regions [10,11].…”