Community Screening of Probable Dementia at Primary Care Center in Western India: A Pilot Project

Introduction Timely detecting dementia is an important goal of clinicians and public health professionals alike for better management and prevention of complications. Community screening of dementia could be a powerful strategy. Facilities for dementia screening at primary care level are virtually nonexistent and are a prominent implementation gap. Hence, a study was done to assess the feasibility of dementia screening at primary care using General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition (GPCoG) scale among older adults with subjective memory complaints. It was further aimed to assess the frequency of cardiovascular risk factors in those who met screening criteria for cognitive impairment. Materials and Methods Older adults coming to three urban primary care centers in western India for screening of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension (opportunistic screening) with subjective memory complaints were enrolled and screened for dementia using GPCoG. A Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was done in patients who came alone for referral purpose in case the score levels in GPCoG examination met cutoff limits for informant interview. Written medical records were examined to assess status of comorbid vascular risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and cerebrovascular accidents. Results A total of 350 older adults (M:F = 276: 74; mean age ± 68 ± 6.7 years) were screened out of 3,000 older adults who reported during the study period. There were 161 older adults with GPCoG score less than or equal to 5 (56.14%) and 149 subjects with MMSE less than or equal to 24 indicating significant cognitive impairment (42.5%). There were very few ( n = 11, 3.14%) out of 350 people who came with caregivers; hence, MMSE was done along with for referral to healthcare providers. A total of 142 had comorbid diabetes/and or hypertension (40.5%). A total of 86 had diabetes alone (24.5%) and a total of 128 had hypertension (36.5%). Conclusion Current study results indicate that using a simple screening tool such as GPCoG, community screening of probable dementia, is feasible in primary care settings, as is indicated by significant yield of probable dementia cases (42.5%). These cases can be referred to appropriate centers for further workup, confirmation of diagnosis, and treatment. Also, detection of comorbid cardiovascular conditions, for example, diabetes and hypertension, that can be managed along with cognitive impairment/dementia for potential prevention/further deterioration, which can strengthen noncommunicable disease screening.