Factors associated with mild cognitive impairment among the community-dwelling elderly in the urban area of Kyauk Tan Township, Myanmar

Abstract

Dementia and its related cognitive impairment diseases are one of the main contributors of disability in older  people.  This  study  is  aimed  for  screening  of  the  elderly  population  with  mild  cognitive  impairment (MCI)  in  the  urban  area  of  Kyauk  Tan  Township  in  Yangon  Region,  Myanmar  and  also  identifying  the important  associated  factors  of  MCI  in  the  local  context.  A  cross-sectional  study  design  was  conducted  in the  form  of  household  visit  interviews  by  using  the  structured  questionnaires  for  350  elderly  in  the  urban area of Kyauk Tan  Township.

The prevalence of mild cognitive impairment was 21% with the mean age of 70 years. Using Chi-square test for association, significantly associated factors with MCI included four socio-demographic factors (age, gender,  education,  and  occupation),  five  life-style  factors  (alcohol  drinking,  physical  activeness,  regular meal,  leisure  activities  and  fish  intake),  one  comorbid  factor  (depression),  three  family  factors  (individual income, family income and family support) and all three social factors (social network, social activities, and
religiousness).  Five factors  including age,  education  level,  physical  activities,  leisure  activities  and  social network size were detected to have significant association with MCI when multiple logistic regressions was performed.

Investigation of  MCI  and associated factors  is  important  for  planning  the  intervention  programs effectively  for the  cognitive  functional  ability  among  the  elderly.