Department of Physiology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Department of Optometry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Sci Rep. 2022 May 9;12(1):7545. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-11735-2.
Cognitive impairment and dementia are age-related major public health concerns in the elderly population. It is a major cause of disability, dependency, and poor quality of life. However, in Ethiopia, the magnitude of this cognitive impairment among the elderly community was not investigated. Hence, this study sought to determine the prevalence of cognitive impairment and associated factors among mature and older adults living in the community of Gondar town, Ethiopia, in 2020. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Gondar town, from February 20 to April 30, 2020. Using a single-stage cluster sampling technique, 403 study participants were recruited. Data was collected by a pretested interviewer-administered structured questionnaire which consisting of sociodemographic variables, the Oslo Social Support Scale, and a Standardized Mini-mental State Examination (SMMSE) tool. Epi data version 3.0 was used to enter coded data and then exported into STATA 14 for analysis. Variables with a p-value < 0.25 in the bi-variable logistic regression were included in the multivariable regression. From multivariable logistic regression, variables having a p-value ≤ 0.05 were declared as statistically significant variables. In this study, a total of 403 study participants were involved, and 393 (97.5%) of them completed the survey. Among older participants screened for cognitive impairment, 43.8% was positive for cognitive impairment with a 95% CI (38.8-48.7%). The majority of the participants were (57.5%) male and (44.8%) aged over 60 years. After adjustment, the variables associated with cognitive impairment were age ≥ 75 years [odds ratio (OR) = 7.03, 95% CI 2.78-17.77] and between 61 and 74 years [OR = 3.18, 95% CI 1.81-5.59], and unable to read and write [OR = 5.05, 95% CI 2.04-12.50], low income level [OR = 2.60, 95% CI 1.26-5.20], being female [OR = 2.52, 95% CI 1.50-4.26], poor social support [OR = 2.50, 95% CI 1.30-4.81], and rural residence [OR = 2.39, 95% CI 1.26-4.51]. The prevalence of older participants who screened positively for cognitive impairment was high at Gondar town. The independent predictors of cognitive impairment among older individuals were older age, being unable to read and write, being female, low income, poor social support, and rural dwelling. Therefore, routine screening and social support, as well as free healthcare services for the mature and older community, are needed. Moreover, we strongly recommend the next researcher to use a diagnosis tool to estimate the actual prevalence of the problems among older people.
认知障碍和痴呆是老年人中与年龄相关的主要公共卫生问题。它是导致残疾、依赖和生活质量下降的主要原因。然而，在埃塞俄比亚，老年人社区中这种认知障碍的程度尚未得到调查。因此，本研究旨在确定 2020 年在埃塞俄比亚贡德尔镇社区生活的成熟和老年人中认知障碍的患病率及其相关因素。这是一项在 2020 年 2 月 20 日至 4 月 30 日期间在贡德尔镇进行的基于社区的横断面研究。采用单阶段聚类抽样技术，招募了 403 名研究参与者。数据由经过预测试的访谈者管理的结构化问卷收集，该问卷包括社会人口统计学变量、奥斯陆社会支持量表和标准化简易精神状态检查 (SMMSE) 工具。EpiData 版本 3.0 用于输入编码数据，然后将其导出到 STATA 14 进行分析。双变量逻辑回归中 p 值 < 0.25 的变量被纳入多变量回归。从多变量逻辑回归中，p 值≤0.05 的变量被宣布为具有统计学意义的变量。在这项研究中，总共涉及 403 名研究参与者，其中 393 名（97.5%）完成了调查。在接受认知障碍筛查的老年参与者中，43.8%的人认知障碍呈阳性，95%CI（38.8-48.7%）。大多数参与者是（57.5%）男性和（44.8%）年龄在 60 岁以上。调整后，与认知障碍相关的变量是年龄≥75 岁[比值比（OR）=7.03，95%置信区间（CI）2.78-17.77]和 61-74 岁[OR=3.18，95%CI 1.81-5.59]，以及无法读写[OR=5.05，95%CI 2.04-12.50]、收入水平低[OR=2.60，95%CI 1.26-5.20]、女性[OR=2.52，95%CI 1.50-4.26]、社会支持差[OR=2.50，95%CI 1.30-4.81]和农村居住[OR=2.39，95%CI 1.26-4.51]。贡德尔镇年龄较大的参与者中认知障碍呈阳性的比例很高。老年人认知障碍的独立预测因素是年龄较大、无法读写、女性、收入低、社会支持差和农村居住。因此，需要为成熟和老年社区提供常规筛查和社会支持以及免费医疗服务。此外，我们强烈建议下一位研究人员使用诊断工具来估计老年人中这些问题的实际患病率。
