Prevalence of dementia in a rural population

This study was aimed at investigating the prevalence of dementia in an aging population in a rural area near Gdańsk. A total of 1000 subjects were selected randomly from the total population (n=2527) of over 60 years of age from the dwelling communes of Pruszcz Gdański, Trabki Wielkie and Pszczółki. A two-phase study consisting of a phase I screening survey using the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) and a phase II diagnostic examination using the ICD-10 criteria was conducted. Next, 100 subjects were randomized from subjects with an MMSE score less than 25 (total number of 283) and included to the second phase. The prevalence of dementia was estimated at 6.7%. The prevalence of total dementia was 3.0% for men and 8.8% for women. The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease was 1.1% for men and 4.0% for women and that of vascular dementia 1.9% and 3.5%, respectively. These results showed that the prevalence of dementia in a rural population was different from that previously reported in other Polish regions, but was similar to its presence in some other countries, especially in the rural regions. The study confirms that female sex has a higher dementia risk factor.