A study of the incidence of dementia (Alzheimer?s disease)and its associated risk factors in the senior citizens in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract

Author(s): Suganthi K

The study was conducted to assess the incidence of the “Dementia (Alzheimer’s disease) and its associated risk factors” in the senior citizens in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh, India. The study utilized biological and psycho social risk factors as independent variable. The effect of dementia is the dependent variable.The demographic variables are age, gender, marital status, literacy level, occupation, income per month, diet and habits.The study was conducted in Government General Hospital, (GGH) Guntur. 200 Seniorcitizens wereconsidered for thestudy aged above 60 years; who could understand Telugu and English;who are conscious and coherent in their activity and who visited GGH during the year June 2012-May 2013 were selected as sample.The structured interview schedule was prepared by the researcher.The Mini Mental Status Examination scale had been used to assess the memory level of senior citizens. The major findings of the study are presented below, out of usable sample taken for the study and administering the Mini Mental Status Examination scale it was found that 51% (102) of the senior citizens were with normal level of memory, 35% (70) of them were suffering with mild cognitive impairment, 12.5% (25) of them were with moderate cognitive impairment and 1.5%(3) of them were with severe cognitive impairment.