Nasaruddin Nur Hamizah, Ganapathy Shubash Shander, Tham Sin Wan
Institute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Malaysia.
Australas J Ageing. 2025 Mar;44(1):e13392. doi: 10.1111/ajag.13392. Epub 2024 Nov 29.
To identify factors associated with dementia among older people in Malaysia.
This study used data from a nationwide cross-sectional survey in Malaysia. Participants involved were older people aged 60 years and above. Data collected were on dementia risk factors as well as dementia screening. Dementia screening was done using the Identification and Intervention for Dementia in Elderly Africans cognitive screening tool. Univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression were carried out to determine the factors associated with dementia.
There were 3774 participants involved in this study. Multiple logistic regression showed factors associated with dementia among older people were those aged 70 years and above, Indian ethnic group, being single, primary or no formal education, as well as those with hypertension. Interestingly, our findings also showed that older people with hypercholesterolemia have lower odds of having dementia.
Multiple factors were associated with dementia in Malaysia, highlighting the need to implement multiple interventions strategies, by taking a lifetime approach emphasizing education, physical as well as social aspects.
确定马来西亚老年人中与痴呆症相关的因素。
本研究使用了马来西亚全国性横断面调查的数据。参与对象为60岁及以上的老年人。收集的数据包括痴呆症风险因素以及痴呆症筛查。痴呆症筛查采用针对非洲裔老年人的痴呆症识别与干预认知筛查工具进行。进行单因素分析和多因素逻辑回归以确定与痴呆症相关的因素。
本研究共有3774名参与者。多因素逻辑回归显示，老年人中与痴呆症相关的因素包括70岁及以上、印度族裔、单身、小学或未接受过正规教育以及患有高血压。有趣的是，我们的研究结果还表明，患有高胆固醇血症的老年人患痴呆症的几率较低。
在马来西亚，多种因素与痴呆症相关，这凸显了通过采取强调教育、身体和社会方面的终身方法来实施多种干预策略的必要性。
