Prevalence of Cognitive Impairment and Risk Factors among Elderly in Rawalpindi, Pakistan: A cross-Sectional study

Abstract

Objective: The study aimed to find out the prevalence of cognitive impairment and risk factors among elderly. Study Design and setting: Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in elderly population of Rawalpindi. Methodology: The study was conducted from October 2020 to February 2021. After getting approval from the ethical committee, data was collected using a semi structured questionnaire. The sample of 446 participants, raised through non probability convenient sampling technique. Participants aged above 60 years, both genders were included however individuals who had severe head injury, depression, severe hearing and visual impairment, delirium and not willing to participate were excluded from study. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. Data was analyzed by using SPSS v24. Results: The overall mean age of sample was 69±4.6 years. Overall prevalence of cognitive impairment was 35.4 %. Among them 134 (30%) had mild cognitive impairment and 24 (5.4%) had dementia. The prevalence of cognitive impairment increases with age being higher (64.2%) at 70 years and above than at 60-69 years of age. Females 82 (61%) had high prevalence of MCI than males 52 (39%). Age, gender, hypertension, diabetes, and physical activity were significantly associated with cognitive impairment. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 24. Descriptive statistics were applied. Pearson chi square of independence was used to find the association of various factors. The p value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Conclusion: Cognitive impairment increases with the increasing age and was more prevalent among females. Hypertension, Diabetes, physical activity were modifiable risk factors for cognitive impairment.