ABSTRACT
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>The awareness, treatment and prevention of chronic diseases are generally poor among the elderly population of China, whereas the prevention and control of chronic diseases in elderly veteran communities have been ongoing for more than 30 years. Therefore, investigating the awareness status of chronic disabling neurological diseases (CDND) and common chronic diseases (CCD) among elderly veterans may provide references for related programs among the elderly in the general population.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A cross-sectional survey was conducted among veterans ≥60 years old in veteran communities in Beijing. The awareness of preventive strategies against dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), sleep disorders, cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and CCD such as hypertension, and the approaches used to access this information, including media, word of mouth (verbal communication among the elderly) and health care professionals, were investigated via face-to-face interviews.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The awareness rates for CCD and CVD were approximately 100%, but that for AD was the lowest at <10%. The awareness rates for sleep disorders, PD and dementia, were 51.0-89.4%. Media was the most commonly selected mode of communication by which veterans acquired knowledge about CCD and CVD. Media was used by approximately 80% of veterans. Both health care professionals and word of mouth were used by approximately 50% of veterans. With respect to the source of information about CDND excluding AD, the rates of the use of health care professionals, word of mouth and media were 10.6-28.2%, 56.5-76.5%, and approximately 50%, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The awareness of CDND among elderly veterans was significantly lower than that of CCD. More information about CDND should be disseminated by health care professionals. Appropriate guidance will promote the rapid and extensive dissemination of information about the prevention of CDND by media and word-of-mouth peer education.</p>
Subject(s)
Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Awareness , Physiology , Chronic Disease , Cross-Sectional Studies , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Nervous System Diseases , VeteransABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the risk factors of mild cognitive impairment (MCI).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A case-control study including 97 MCI patients and 143 cognitive normal controls (NC) in Chinese PLA General Hospital was conducted. The cases and controls were matched for age, gender and occupation. The relationship between MCI and various factors was analysed by univariate and multivariate analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Results data from univariate analysis showed that the history of coronary heart diseases, stroke, anaemia, and the education level had significant differences between NC and MCI patients. Multivariate analysis confirmed that the history of coronary heart diseases, stroke, anaemia and the education level were significantly related to MCI and their ORs (95% confidence interval) were 2.21 (1.18 - 4.14), 2.18 (1.20 - 3.98), 4.63 (1.79 - 11.97), 0.75 (0.58 - 0.97) respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The history of coronary heart diseases, stroke and anaemia were independent risk factors of MCI and high education level seemed to be a protective factor of MCI.</p>