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Review
. 2020 Oct 27;5(4):84.
doi: 10.3390/geriatrics5040084.

Global Cognitive Impairment Prevalence and Incidence in Community Dwelling Older Adults-A Systematic Review

Ricardo Pais  1   2   3 , Luís Ruano  1   2   4 , Ofélia P Carvalho  1   2 , Henrique Barros  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Global Cognitive Impairment Prevalence and Incidence in Community Dwelling Older Adults-A Systematic Review

Ricardo Pais et al. Geriatrics (Basel). .

Abstract

(1) Background: We proposed to review worldwide estimates of cognitive impairment prevalence and incidence in adults older than 50 years of age living in the community. (2) Methods: Systematic searches were performed in January 2019 using MEDLINE/PubMed. Articles were selected if they referred to cognitive impairment, prevalence, incidence, elders, and population or community-based studies. Analysis, aggregated by different methodologic features, was performed. (3) Results: Prevalence (80 studies) ranged between 5.1% and 41% with a median of 19.0% (25th percentile = 12.0%; 75th percentile = 24.90%). Incidence (11 studies) ranged from 22 to 76.8 per 1000 person-years with a median of 53.97 per 1000 person-years (25th percentile = 39.0; 75th percentile = 68.19). No statistically significant effects were found except for inclusion age. (4) Conclusion: We propose that the homogenization and clarification of the definition of what constitutes cognitive impairment are essential to refine the epidemiological understanding of this entity. The results of this review reinforce the importance of adherence to standardized cut-off scores for cognitive tests to promote study comparability.

Keywords: cognitive impairment; epidemiology; incidence; prevalence.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart summary of the literature search.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of cognitive impairment reported by published papers, which are grouped by world region (95% confidence intervals were obtained from papers or calculated from the data presented).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Incidence of cognitive impairment reported by the 11 included studies, which are grouped by world region (the 95% confidence intervals were obtained from papers or calculated with the data presented).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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