Dementia and associated factors among the elderly in Vietnam: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Dementia poses a serious threat to the wellbeing of the elderly. In the context of the rapidly ageing population of Vietnam however, little is known about the prevalence of symptoms and other related factors. This study aims to detect the prevalence of cognitive symptoms of dementia in the elderly in Vietnam as well as other associated factors. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of six communes at the Northern, Central and Southern region of Vietnam. Prevalence of cognitive symptoms of dementia was the outcome of interest and assessed by Mini Mental State Evaluation (MMSE) questionnaire and was standardized according to the age structure of Vietnam. A total of 3308 adults aged 60 and above were included. Association between having cognitive symptoms of dementia and other factors was assessed with logistic regression. Findings Cognitive symptoms of dementia were perceived in 46.4% of the sample group. The symptoms were more common among participants who were older, female, had a lower educational level, were not physically active or have previously had stroke. Conclusions Prevalence of cognitive symptoms of dementia in adults aged 60 and above was relatively high in Vietnam. Other modifiable associated factors including physical inactivity and social connectedness should also be considered in designing intervention program to prevent dementia in the future.

Fear of falling and cognitive impairment in elderly with different social support levels: findings from a community survey in Central Vietnam

“…In some previous studies, impaired cognition was identified as a predictor of FoF [4,5,12], while in others, no association between cognitive impairment and FoF was observed [13]. In addition, the proportion of Vietnamese elderly who had cognitive symptoms of dementia was recently reported to be high at 46.4% [14]. As there have been limited large-scale population studies investigating FoF as well as the relationship between FoF and cognitive impairment in Vietnam, it is crucial to obtain a clearer understanding about this association in a large communitybased sample.…”

Identifying Appropriate Neuropsychological Tests for Uneducated/Illiterate Older Individuals

“…Hence, the present study challenges the validity of the clinical assessment of uneducated/illiterate individuals. It also raises the question whether the high prevalence of dementia in older uneducated/illiterate individuals that is often found in population-based epidemiological studies reflects actual deficits, or is an artifact resulting from the inappropriateness of these tests for this population, thus leading to false-positive results on cognitive screening tests which are used as a reference standard for a dementia diagnosis (Bich et al, 2019;Goudsmit et al, 2020). Finally, our approach may provide a model for researchers in other cultural contexts to explore relevant factors for the neuropsychological assessment of uneducated/illiterate older individuals in their own countries.…”

Do Communication Patterns Affect the Association between Cognitive Impairment and Hearing Loss among Older Adults in Vietnam?

“…With regard to the prevalence of severe cognitive impairment, MMSE score 0–23 was used as the criterion to detect dementia and had sensitivity of 0.89 (95% CI, 0.85 to 0.92) and specificity of 0.89 (95% CI, 0.85 to 0.93) [ 26 ]. Using the same criterion of MMSE 0–23, but with some differences in methodologies and study populations, other studies in Vietnam reported severe cognitive impairment prevalence rates of 29–48% [ 22 , 24 ].…”

“…These studies mainly investigated epidemiological aspects of cognitive impairment. The previous Vietnam reports showed the prevalence of cognitive impairment ranged from 29% to 48% [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. However, a lack of study included mild cognitive impairment (MCI), an early stage of dementia.…”