Prevalence of cognitive and functional impairment in a community sample from São Paulo, Brazil.
OBJECTIVE
To present the prevalence of cognitive and functional impairment (CFI) in community-dwelling elderly subjects from the city of São Paulo.


METHODS
The population was aged 60 years and older (n = 1,563; 68.7% women and 31.3% men) and lived in different socioeconomic areas. The following instruments were administered to the elderly: the Mini Mental State Examination and the Fuld Object Memory Evaluation. The Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly and the Bayer-Activities of Daily Living scale were administered to an informant.


RESULTS
The prevalence of CFI (n = 250) was 16% (95% confidence interval, CI: 14.2-17.8%) or 15.8% (95% CI: 13.8-17.8%). In regression models, the increase in the odds ratio (OR) of CFI was associated with age, for elderly individuals aged 75 years or older, illiterates or with 1-4 years of schooling, and with a history of stroke and diabetes mellitus. On the other hand, for subjects with a tumor history, the OR of CFI was significantly reduced.


CONCLUSIONS
CFI was high and increased at older ages and in subjects with low education. Potentially changeable factors were identified (stroke and diabetes), and the possible 'protective effect' of tumor/cancer against CFI should be further investigated by longitudinal studies.
Hototian
Sergio R
SR
Old Age Research Group (PROTER), Institute and Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Lopes
Marcos A
MA
Azevedo
Dionisio
D
Tatsch
Mariana
M
Bazzarella
Mario C
MC
Bustamante
Sonia E Z
SE
Litvoc
Julio
J
Bottino
Cássio M C
CM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires