Prevalence of dementia in patients seen at a private hospital in the Southern Region of Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the epidemiological profile of patients seen at a dementia outpatient clinic. METHODS: A retrospective study conducted by medical record review searching data on sex, race, age, schooling level, and diagnosis of patients seen from 2008 to 2015. RESULTS: A total of 760 patients were studied, with a predominance of female (61.3%; p<0.0001). The mean age was 71.2±14.43 years for women and 66.1±16.61 years for men. The most affected age group was 71 to 80 years, accounting for 29.4% of cases. In relation to race, 96.3% of patients were white. Dementia was diagnosed in 68.8% of patients, and Alzheimer’s disease confirmed in 48.9%, vascular dementia in 11.3%, and mixed dementia in 7.8% of cases. The prevalence of dementia was 3% at 70 years and 25% at 85 years. Dementia appeared significantly earlier in males (mean age 68.5±15.63 years). As to sex distribution, it was more frequent in women (59.6%) than in men (40.4%; p<0.0001; OR=2.15). People with higher schooling level (more than 9 years) had a significantly younger age at onset of dementia as compared to those with lower schooling level (1 to 4 years; p=0.0007). CONCLUSION: Most patients seen in the period presented dementia, and Alzheimer was the most prevalent disease. Women were more affected, and men presented young onset of the disease. Individuals with higher schooling level were diagnosed earlier than those with lower level.