title: Prevalence of Dementia and Associated Factors among Older Adults in Iran: National Elderly Health Survey (NEHS).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia is increasing in Iran and the world. There is no study available on the prevalence of dementia at the national level in Iran. This study aimed to report the rate of dementia at the national level in Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  The National Elderly Health Survey (NEHS) was a cross-sectional study with multistage cluster random sampling on people aged ≥ 60 years in Iran. Dementia was diagnosed by trained general practitioners using Brief Cognitive Assessment Tool (BCAT). In this study, the dementia diagnosis rate was considered as the ratio of individuals previously diagnosed with dementia to individuals considered as dementia. Analyses were carried out using survey analysis method. The provincial rates were standardized based on the Iranian population in 2011 and the national rate was standardized based on WHO standard populations. Association between risk factors and dementia was assessed using a multivariable logistic regression model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall crude prevalence of dementia among people aged ≥ 60 years was 7.9% (8.7% in women and 6.9% in men) and age standardized dementia prevalence rate in Iran based on WHO standard population was 8.1% (9.6% in women and 6.5% in men). The prevalence of dementia was observed as 3.7% among people aged 60-64 years, 6.2% in the age-group 65-69 years, 10.4% in the age-group 70-74 years, 14.4% in the age-group 75-79 years, and 13.0% in the age-group ≥ 80 years. West Azerbaijan had the lowest and North Khorasan had the highest age-sex adjusted prevalence rate of dementia. Our results indicated that only 21.2% of subjects with dementia were diagnosed. We observed that diabetes mellitus, depressed mood, illiteracy, and increased age were associated with dementia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It seems that dementia is more common in Iran than many other countries. However, the rate of dementia diagnosis is much lower than that in developed countries.
authors.affiliation: Elderly Health Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Farshad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sharifi
authors.affiliation: Elderly Health Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fakhrzadeh
authors.affiliation: Noncommunicable Disease Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Varmaghani
authors.affiliation: Elderly Health Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Masoud
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Arzaghi
authors.affiliation: Elderly Health Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahtab
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alizadeh Khoei
authors.affiliation: Noncommunicable Disease Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Farshad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Farzadfar
authors.affiliation: Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Parisa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Taheri Tanjani
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data