Prevalence and Risk Factors of Cognitive Deficits and Dementia in Relation to Socioeconomic Class in an Elderly Population of India

Abstract

We attempted to find the association between age-related cognitive deficits or dementia and socioeconomic class or other risk factors, using a cross-sectional random survey of 595 elderly subjects ages 50-84 years in an urban population of Moradabad, India. The prevalence of cognitive deficit was 18.6% and was significantly higher in men than women (22.3% vs 14.6%; P < 0.05). There was a greater prevalence of cognitive deficits in lower socioeconomic classes. The prevalence of cognitive deficit, including dementia, has become a public health problem in India and is significantly associated with lower socioeconomic class, higher age, smoking, malnutrition, and alcohol intake in men.