title: Epidemiologic survey of dementia in a community-dwelling Brazilian population.
abstract: The authors report the prevalence of dementia in a community-dwelling Brazilian elderly population and correlate prevalence data with educational and socioeconomic levels. The study was conducted in Catanduva, Brazil. A total of 1,656 randomly selected subjects aged 65 years or more were submitted to a health questionnaire, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the Pfeffer Functional Activities Questionnaire (PFAQ). According to the PFAQ and MMSE scores, selected subjects were submitted to clinical, neurologic, and cognitive evaluations. The subjects diagnosed with dementia underwent laboratory tests and brain computed tomography (CT). Dementia was diagnosed in 118 subjects, corresponding to a prevalence of 7.1%. The main clinical diagnoses were Alzheimer disease (AD; 55.1%), vascular dementia (9.3%), and AD with cerebrovascular disease (14.4%). The prevalence increased with age and was higher in women. There was an inverse association with education (3.5% among persons with 8 or more years of schooling to 12.2% among those who were illiterate). Multivariate analysis disclosed significant association between these three variables and dementia. The prevalence of dementia in this Brazilian population was 7.1%, and AD was the most frequent diagnosis. Age, female gender, and low educational level were significantly associated with a higher prevalence of dementia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Catanduva School of Medicine, Catanduva, Brazil.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Herrera
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caramelli
authors.forename: Ana Silvia Barreiros
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Silveira
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nitrini
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class