Cuba: Risk factors for dementia in the elderly

The incidence of depression, strokes and low physical activity in dementia in the elderly in Cuba was confirmed, according to a study published in the Frontiers in Public Health e-magazine.

Such an e-magazine from the University of Kentucky, United States, released the research that included 1,846 elderly Cubans to identify socio-demographic, health and lifestyle risk factors for dementia.

Participants completed questionnaires, health screenings, and cognitive tests between 2003 and 2006, and four and a half years later (2007-2010), allowing some information to be examined to determine associations between baseline items and incident dementia.

According to results, just over 9% of participants developed dementia, and it was determined that, in general, advanced age and low physical activity were associated with dementia.

In people aged 65 to 74 years, depression, strokes and low physical activity were associated with cases of dementia, while in those aged 75 years and older, low physical activity, never eating fish and smoking were associated with dementia.