ABSTRACT
Dementia poses a significant societal and health challenge in the 21st century, with many hospitalized patients experiencing dementia without a documented diagnosis.
Objective:
To evaluate the prevalence of dementia and its associated risk factors among older patients admitted to hospitals.
Methods:
The study included older patients (≥ 60 years) admitted to medical departments of a general hospital in three major Iranian cities. Researchers utilized the Activities of Daily Living-Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (ADL-IADL) scale, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), the Mini-Cog test, the 4 A’s test (4AT), and the Abbreviated Mental Test Score (AMTS). Among the 420 recruited older inpatients, 228 (54.3%) were female.
Results:
The mean age of participants was 71.39 years (standard deviation ±7.95), with 30.7% diagnosed with major neurocognitive disorder (dementia). The likelihood of dementia exhibited statistically significant correlations with gender, age, number of children, and occupation.
Conclusions:
Screening older individuals for cognitive impairment upon hospital admission holds the potential to prevent adverse outcomes and enhance the quality of treatment for patients concurrently dealing with dementia.
Keywords:
Mental Status and Dementia Tests; Dementia; Aged; Prevalence