Prevalence Study of Cognitive Impairment and its Associated Sociodemographic Variables using Mini-Mental Status Examination among Elderly Population Residing in Field Practice Areas of a Medical College

CONTEXT: The world is aging rapidly through “demographic transition.” The aging leads to CI Refers as Cognitive Impairment (CI) – a risk factor for dementia. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among the elderly aged ≥50 years. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study is to estimate the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction among the elderly and to identify the associated sociodemographic variables. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a community-based cross-sectional study in rural and urban field areas of a medical college. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Participants aged ≥50 years were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and screened for cognitive dysfunction using Gujarati version of Mini-Mental Status Examination. A score of 23 out of 30 was taken as the cutoff. Written informed consent was obtained from participants. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Univariate and multivariate analyses were done using SPSS version 17 and Epi Info version 6 to identify significant variables. RESULTS: Of 560 participants, 140 (25%) had CI. Rural (27.6%) and female (29.8%) prevalence was higher than urban (18.5%) and male (19.1%) prevalence. On multivariate analysis, age ≥60 years (odds ratio [OR]: 2.98) and illiteracy (OR: 39.8) had significant positive association with outcome; being employed (OR: 0.18), living with spouse (OR: 0.07), and living with spouse and children (OR: 0.08) had significant negative association with outcome. CONCLUSIONS: CI – a precursor of dementia – has serious clinical and public health consequences. Awareness generation and capacity building of primary health-care workers and family caregivers are core control strategies.