Prevalence and influencing factors of dementia in elderly people in the pension agencies in Chongqing / 重庆医学

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the prevalence of dementia in the elderly people in pension agencies in Chongqing,and analyse its influencing factors.Methods The elderly people aged 60 and above in ten pension agencies were chosen randomly as subjects based on cluster sampling method.Face to face interviews were adopted in this research.The cognitive status of the elderly people was assessed through mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and instrumental activities of daily living scale (IADL).The influencing factors of dementia in the elderly people in pension agencies were collected by self-made general status scale for elderly people and the geriatric depression scale (GDS).Results A total of 119 elderly people were diagnosed with dementia in 415 eligible elderly people,and the prevalence rate was 28.67 ％.The prevalence rate of dementia in the elderly people was significantly different by age,gender,marital status,educational level,habitation,whether or not smoking,drinking and exercise,frequencies of housework and outdoor activities,whether or not having religious beliefs,and whether or not suffering from high blood pressure,diabetes,coronary heart disease,stroke and depression (P＜0.05).No statistically significant difference was found in the prevalence rate of dementia in the elderly people differed by occupation,financial situation,whether or not eating fresh water fishes,seafood,fish oil health products,livers or fat meat,eggs,and frequencies of social interaction with relatives and neighbors,playing Mahjong or chess,watching TV or listening to broadcasts and participating in social activities (P＞0.05).The multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that aged 70 or above,female,smoking,overweight or obesity and hypertension were the risk factors for dementia in the elderly people in pension agencies in Chongqing,while in marriage,not live alone and participating in outdoor activities everyday were the protective factors for dementia in the elderly people in pension agencies in Chongqing.Conclusion The prevalence rate of dementia in the elderly people in 10 pension agencies in Chongqing is relatively high,which indicated that more emphasis should be placed on preventing and controling dementia.