Prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in the elderly living in nursing and veteran care homes in Xi'an, China

Abstract

Design: Cross-sectional surveys using cluster sampling.

Objectives: To explore the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in several nursing homes (NHs) and veteran care homes (VCHs) in Xi'an City and their various risk factors.

Participants and measurements: 264 native elderly people from four NHs and two VCHs were examined with several screening tests for dementia: Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Hasegawa Dementia Scale (HDS). Diagnosis of dementia and MCI were made according to DSM-III-R and Petersen's criteria. Socio-demographic characteristics and past history were also collected.

Results: Dementia prevalence was 36.7% in those living in NHs and VCHs, much higher than that of normal population and the prevalence of MCI was 13.3% which was the same as in normal population. Dementia was associated with old age, female, low education level and living in NHs. Men had significantly higher prevalence odds for MCI. Very old age, living in NHs and severe ADL impairment were correlated with higher prevalence odds for dementia and MCI.

Conclusion: The prevalence of dementia in the elderly living in groups in Xi'an was high, especially living in NHs.