The current situation and relevant risk factors for disability and dementia in the elderly in urban areas of Jiangsu Province

Abstract

Objective To study the current situation and relevant risk factors for disability and dementia among the elderly in urban areas of Jiangsu province. Methods A stratified cluster sampling method was used to select representative elderly people aged 60 years and over in urban areas in Jiangsu Province, and a face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted.The activities of daily living(ADL)scale and mini-mental state examination(MMSE)were used to assess the status of disability and dementia.And the relevant risk factors for disability and dementia were analyzed by univariate and multivariate Logistic regression methods. Results A total of 1 600 elderly people were investigated and 1 514 valid questionnaires were recovered.The effective recovery rate was 94.6%.The rates of disability and dementia were 17.9%(271/1 514)and 8.5%(129/1 514)respectively in the elderly in Jiangsu urban areas.Univariate analysis showed that age, marital status, education level, empty-nest, whether or not to suffer from chronic diseases, health status, medication, and whether or not to have dementia were significantly related with the disability in the elderly(P<0.01). And age, gender, marital status, education level, whether or not to suffer from chronic diseases, health status, medication, and whether or not to have disability were significantly related with the dementia in the elderly(P<0.01). Multivariate analysis showed that the risk factors associating with increasing disability in the elderly were advanced age(OR=16.371), non-marriage(OR=1.917), chronic disease(OR=2.256), poor health condition(OR=23.214), dementia(OR=4.067)and insufficient income(OR=1.607)(P<0.05). And the factors associating with increasing risks for dementia in the elderly were advanced age(OR=2.864), female(OR=1.610), poor health condition(OR=3.097), empty nest(OR=1.607)and disability(OR=4.026)(P<0.05). Therefore, comprehensive measures should be taken for intervention of disability and dementia in the elderly. Conclusions The incidence of disability and dementia is high among the elderly in urban areas of Jiangsu Province.Disability and dementia are the results of the interaction effect of health, family and social factors.Therefore, comprehensive measures against risk factors should be taken for intervention of disability and dementia in the elderly. Key words: Activities of daily living; Cognition disorders; Risk factors