Prevalence of dementia and cognitive impairment in Southeastern Spain: the Ariadna study.

Objectives  –  To estimate the prevalence of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), cognitive impairment, no dementia (CIND) and dementia in a general elderly population and to examine the associated socio-demographic factors. Methods  –  The Ariadna study is a population-based cross-sectional study of cognitive function involving 1074 individuals aged 65–96 years from the Murcia Region of southeastern Spain. Prevalence, adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Results  –  The overall prevalence was 8.7% (95% CI 7.1–10.5) for aMCI, 14.5% (95% CI 12.4–16.8) for CIND and 5.5% (95% CI 4.3–7.1) for dementia. Dementia was associated with age (OR 1.13 95% CI 1.09–1.18 for a 1-year increase in age). Illiterate subjects were more likely to present aMCI (OR 2.59; 95% CI 1.09–6.14) and dementia (OR 4.09; 95% CI 1.28–13.08) than subjects with secondary or higher education. Rural area residents (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.07–4.24) and women (OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.06–2.22) were more likely to have CIND. Conclusion  –  The prevalence of dementia was low, despite a high prevalence of aMCI and CIND. Dementia was strongly associated with age and education. CIND was associated with living in a rural area and with female sex, while aMCI was associated with illiteracy.