Rural–urban differences in the prevalence of cognitive impairment in independent community-dwelling elderly residents of Ojiya city, Niigata Prefecture, Japan

Abstract

The prevalence of cognitive impairment was higher in the rural area relative to urban areas in Ojiya city. This regional difference suggests the existence of potentially modifiable factors other than lifestyle in relation to cognitive impairment.

Sex Differences in the Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Nonvascular Cognitive Function in Rural, Low-Income Elderly in Tianjin, China

“…However, our results were contrary to those of a Japanese study that included urban and rural populations of people over 65 years of age, which showed that the prevalence of male cognitive impairment was 6.6% and that of female cognitive impairment was 3.4% [13]. The cause of higher prevalence of nonvascular cognitive impairment in this study may be explained by the limited criteria of exclusion.…”

“…The prevalence of dementia and cognitive impairment has been inconsistent across regions and people, but almost all previous studies showed that the prevalence of cognitive impairment was higher in women than in men [13,14,16,19,27]. A study from a population in northern Portugal that included participants aged 55-79 years old showed that the prevalence of cognitive impairment was higher in women than in men in both urban and rural areas, as follows: 13.7 versus 9.4% and 18.2 versus 14.8% respectively [14].…”

“…Most studies in recent years have shown that morbidity and the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment are higher in rural than in urban areas [13][14][15][16][17]. However, conclusions on the impact of sex on cognition are inconsistent [13,16,[18][19][20].…”

“…However, conclusions on the impact of sex on cognition are inconsistent [13,16,[18][19][20]. A higher prevalence of cognitive impairment has been reported in men [13] and in women [16,19].…”

Disabilities moderate the association between neighbourhood urbanity and cognitive health: Results from the Irish longitudinal study on ageing

“…Several epidemiological studies have indicated a cognitive advantage of living in urban rather than rural areas (5,(15)(16)(17). However, the moderating role of disabilities has been investigated in very few studies.…”