title: Voluntary cognitive screening: characteristics of participants in an Asian setting.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia are reaching epidemic proportions in Asia. Lack of awareness and late presentation are major obstacles to early diagnosis and timely intervention. Cognitive screening may be an effective method for early detection of dementia in Asia. The purpose of this work was to study the characteristics of subjects volunteering for cognitive screening in an Asian setting and to determine the prevalence of MCI.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective and cross-sectional data from community subjects attending a screening program from 2008 to 2013 were analyzed. Information on demographics, vascular risk factors, subjective symptoms, and cognitive measures were analyzed over the 6-year period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over the 6 years from 2008 to 2013, 1,243 community subjects voluntarily turned up for cognitive screening (91.2% were Chinese, 5.23% were Indian, 1.37% were Malay, and 2.25% were Eurasian). The mean age of the participants was 61.3 years and the mean number of years of education was 11.0 years. A total of 71.1% of participants were living in public housing, 59.8% had at least one cardiovascular risk factor, and 56.2% reported subjective cognitive symptoms. Over a period of 6 years, no significant change in demographic or clinical variables was noted. High cholesterol and hypertension were consistently the top two risk factors found in the population screened. In total, 17.2% of the total cohort had MCI. Across the 6 years, the proportion with MCI and depression was relatively constant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A significant proportion of participants attending voluntary cognitive screening have MCI. Low level of education and presence of vascular risk factors are general predisposing characteristics for MCI, and there are more specific factors pertaining to sex and employment status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore ; School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Vanda
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore.
authors.forename: Nur Hani
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Zainal
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore.
authors.forename: Aloysius
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore.
authors.forename: Eveline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore ; Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore.
authors.forename: Nagaendran
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kandiah
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: cognitive impairment; dementia; early detection; screening; vascular risk factors