| Sumario: | Purpose In 2008, WHO (World Health Organization) launched the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), which included dementia as a priority1. However, to date there has been no formal investigation of the prevalence of dementia in elderly Taiwanese. This study was organized to assess dementia prevalence in elderly residents (aged over 65 years) in Taoyuan county of Taiwan. Information on dementia prevalence would be beneficial not only for family members who could benefit from early diagnosis and referral services, but also for community agencies and hospitals in Taoyuan to be better prepared for the delivery of services to this population group. Method Based on the proportion of elderly population in each township, the sample consisted of a total of 47,438 elderly from 13 townships in Taoyuan County (48.2% males, 51.8% females). Dementia was detected in a two stage process. First, the AD8 scale was used to screen for early symptoms of dementia in the community2. A score of 2 or higher on the AD8 scale indicated possible symptoms of dementia. Second, those subjects scoring 2 or above were further referred to a hospital for more comprehensive examination. Results & Discussion In the first phase, 637 persons out of the total 47,438 subjects in the study sample screened positive for dementia. In the second phase, 510 persons (80%) of the 637 were identified as having dementia. On average in Taoyuan, an estimated 1.07 percent of cases surveyed presented suspected Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Fuxing Township had the highest suspected rate of MCI, 6.88%. The average age of elderly persons exhibiting suspected MCI was also lower in Fuxing Township (Table1). The majority of residents of Fuxing Township are aboriginal people, and suffer from relatively poorer economic conditions and a chronic shortage of health care. These factors may have contributed to Fuxing Township having a higher MCI rate and a lower average age of patients with dementia. These findings echo those of Smith's3 who found a high prevalence of dementia in indigenous peoples in Australia. Endeavors to screen and diagnose aboriginal elderly who tend to live in less accessible areas may be different from programs for non-aboriginal elders.
|
|---|