Factors related to cognitive status among elders in southern Thailand

Abstract

This study examined the prevalence of and risk factors predicting cognitive impairment among elders in southern Thailand. Four-hundred Thai elders were administered five interview-based questionnaires that assessed demographic characteristics, cognitive function, depression, independent activities of daily living, and social connections. Although most of the elders had normal cognitive function, approximately 15% experienced cognitive impairment. Though nine of the 10 risk factors examined were identified as being associated with cognitive impairment, only a lack of formal education, female gender, depression, and physical inactivity were found to be significant predictors of cognitive impairment. The results suggested that elders with risk factors should be assessed for cognitive impairment. Depression, and deficits in activities of daily living and educational activities should be addressed and corrected to improve elders' cognitive abilities.

Gender Disparity in Late-life Cognitive Functioning in India: Findings From the Longitudinal Aging Study in India

“…We found significant gender disparities in cognitive function among a geographically diverse, representative sample of adults aged 45 years or older across four Indian states. Our results were consistent with a growing literature on cognitive health in developing countries that show women perform worse than men on cognitive measures (Lei, Hu, McArdle, Smith, & Zhao, 2011;Maurer, 2011;Taboonpong, Chailungka, & Aassanangkornchai, 2008;Yount, 2008). These results contrast with those in industrialized countries, where women typically outperform men (Langa et al, 2008(Langa et al, , 2009.…”

Does education moderate gender disparities in later‐life memory function? A cross‐national comparison of harmonized cognitive assessment protocols in the United States and India

“…Our results are consistent with previous evidence from low‐ and middle‐income settings that have reported that older women perform on average worse on memory function measures than older men, 37–39 in contrast to high‐income settings, where older women typically outperform older men 40,41 . Consistent with our findings, previous research in India has found substantial gender gaps in later‐life cognition, with older Indian women having worse memory function than older Indian men 11,33 .…”

Cognitive Health of Older Indians: Individual and Geographic Determinants of Female Disadvantage

“…The residents of Punjab had better memory scores than the residents of Karnataka, while the residents of Kerala did worse than those of Karnataka. that showed that women performed worse than men on a variety of cognitive measures (Lei et al, 2011;Maurer, 2011;Taboonpong et al, 2008;Yount, 2008). These results contrast with what is observed in industrialized countries, where women typically outperform men (Langa et al, 2008(Langa et al, , 2009.…”