A higher level of educational attainment constitutes a protective factor against cognitive decline in the elderly. Nevertheless, the elements underpinning this association are yet not fully understood.ObjectiveThe primary aim of this study was to compare cognitively impaired illiterate elderly subjects with cognitively preserved counterparts, according to demographics, comorbidities, lifetime habits and APOE genotype.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional analysis of the illiterate subset of participants (n=174) from the Pietà study, a community-based survey of successful brain aging conducted in Caeté (MG), Brazil. Subjects were categorized into three diagnostic groups: cognitively normal (CN), cognitive impairment no-dementia (CIND) and dementia. The groups were then compared according to selected variables.ResultsSubjects with dementia were older and had an increased prevalence of reported stroke or transient ischemic attack. The three groups did not differ in relation to demographics, prevalence of comorbidities, socioeconomic level, previous occupation profile and APOE-ε4 allele frequency. Qualitatively evaluated lifetime habits, such as alcohol consumption, smoking and physical activity engagement were also similar across groups.ConclusionNo associations were found between cognitive impairment/dementia and the variables evaluated in this community-based sample of illiterate elderly.