Prevalence of dementia and cognitive impairment with no dementia in a primary care setting in southern Brazil

Abstract

Background: Cognitive decline is a common condition, but is still underrepresented in studies conducted in developing countries. Objective: To calculate the prevalence of cognitive decline and depression in an elderly community-dwelling population in a city in southern Brazil. Methods: We calculated the prevalences of dementia, cognitive impairment with no dementia (CIND) and symptoms of depression in an elderly population relying on the public healthcare system. This epidemiological study in Pelotas, Brazil, was conducted within the primary care setting. It included 299 older adults (mean age = 69.75 ± 7.6 years) who presented low levels of education (mean = 4.16 ± 3.17 years of education). They underwent cognitive screening and their medical records were analyzed. Results: Among these older adults, 142 (47.5%) presented cognitive decline: 104 (34.8%) matching the cognitive criteria for CIND and 38 (12.7%) matching the cognitive criteria for dementia. Among all the individuals who completed the cognitive screening, 141 (48.4%) were positive for symptoms of depression, of whom 99 (34%) did not have any previous diagnosis in their medical records. Conclusion: There was high prevalence of cognitive impairment among these older adults in a primary care setting. A large number of older adults were found to have symptoms of depression without any diagnosis.

Associação Entre Declínio Cognitivo, Sintomas Depressivos E Do Medo De Cair Com a Velocidade Da Marcha Confortável Em Idosos Comunitários

“…Além disso, vale destacar que a maioria dos estudos incluídos nessa revisão foram realizados em países de renda elevada, podendo influenciar nas características da amostra. Ademais, destaca-se que o medo de cair (CANEVER et al, 2021;DRUMMOND;LOURENÇO;LOPES, 2020), declínio cognitivo (FERREIRA-FILHO et al, 2021;MELLO et al, 2021) e sintomas depressivos (FERREIRA-FILHO et al, 2021) são condições frequentes em idosos comunitários brasileiros, sendo necessário estudos que verifiquem a associação dessas condições com testes de desempenho funcional em idosos.…”

Preventable Risk Factors for Dementia: Population Attributable Fractions in a Brazilian Population-Based Study

“…However, the prevalence of depression in Brazil was lower than that estimated in Latin America 29¢9%). 2 The prevalence of depression varies largely among Brazilian studies (3¢9% to 17%) 26,27 mostly due to different methods of evaluating depression. The relationship between depression and dementia is complex, as severe depression might be a risk factor or a consequence of dementia, 28 where depressive states are suggested as prodromal stages of Alzheimer's disease.…”

Prevalence of cognitive impairment in Brazilian indigenous community from Amazonas

“…The global estimated prevalence of dementia is 5-7%, with higher rates in low-and middle-income countries and illiterate older adults 2,3 . The prevalence of cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND) varies widely, ranging from 3 to 27% [4][5][6][7] , and in Brazil, it ranges from 19.5 to 34.8% 8,9 . Unlike dementia, in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and CIND, the patient can keep independence in functional abilities 10 .…”