Prevalence and European comparison of dementia in a ≥75-year-old composite population in Spain

• Published in: Acta neurologica Scandinavica Vol. 123; no. 5; pp. 316 - 324
• Main Authors: Virués-Ortega, J., de Pedro-Cuesta, J., Vega, S., Seijo-Martínez, M., Saz, P., Rodríguez, F., Rodríguez-Laso, Á., Reñé, R., de las Heras, S. P., Mateos, R., Martínez-Martín, P., Mahillo-Fernández, I., López-Pousa, S., Lobo, A., Reglà, J. L., Gascón, J., García, F. J., Fernández-Martínez, M., Boix, R., Bermejo-Pareja, F., Bergareche, A., Sánchez-Sánchez, F., de Arce, A., del Barrio, J. L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2011; Blackwell
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer's disease; Biological and medical sciences; dementia; Dementia - diagnosis; Dementia - epidemiology; Female; Health Surveys; Humans; Male; Mass Screening; Medical sciences; Neurologic Examination; Neurology; Prevalence; Sarcoidosis. Granulomatous diseases of unproved etiology. Connective tissue diseases. Elastic tissue diseases. Vasculitis; Sex Factors; Spain; Spain - epidemiology; vascular dementia; Spain; Nervous system diseases; Vascular dementia; Prevalence; Alzheimer disease; Cardiovascular disease; Cerebral disorder; Spain; Central nervous system disease; dementia; Degenerative disease; Alzheimer's disease; Cerebrovascular disease; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0001-6314; 1600-0404
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2010.01398.x

Virués‐Ortega J, de Pedro‐Cuesta J, Vega S, Seijo‐Martínez M, Saz P, Rodríguez F, Rodríguez‐Laso Á, Reñé R, de las Heras SP, Mateos R, Martínez‐Martín P, Mahillo‐Fernández I, López‐Pousa S, Lobo A, Reglà JL, Gascón J, García FJ, Fernández‐Martínez M, Boix R, Bermejo‐Pareja F, Bergareche A, Sánchez‐Sánchez F, de Arce A, del Barrio JL; On behalf of the Spanish Epidemiological Studies on Ageing Group. Prevalence and European comparison of dementia in a ≥75‐year‐old composite population in Spain. 
Acta Neurol Scand: 2011: 123: 316–324. 
© 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Objectives –  To estimate dementia prevalence in Spain. Materials and methods –  Nine probabilistic and geographically defined samples participated. A screening design based on the MMSE was implemented. Positively screened individuals underwent clinical evaluation. The total number of cases in Spain was estimated. Prevalence was confronted to that of other European countries. Results –  Five hundred and forty‐six persons aged ≥75 participated, 49 had dementia (35 with Alzheimer’s disease [AD], 10 with vascular dementia [VD], 4 other; 25 first diagnosed in the study). Age‐ and sex‐adjusted prevalence and estimated nationwide cases were 7.5% (95% CI 5.4–9.7), 5.6 (95% CI 3.7–7.5) and 1.4 (95% CI 0.5–2.3), and 290,000 (95% CI 208,000–372,000), 214,000 (95% CI 141,000–288,000) and 54,000 (95% CI 20,000–88,000) for dementia, AD and VD, respectively. Conclusions –  Dementia prevalence in Spain is comparable to other European populations, while a high number of undiagnosed cases live in the community. The potential impact of Mediterranean diet, hypertension control and decreasing vascular risk factors is discussed.