Dementia Epidemiology and Risk Factors in China

Background: Globally and across China, dementia is a major disability and a public and economic health burden. Evidence suggests dementia prevalence in China is inconsistent and has probably been underestimated by previous studies. Methods: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study from May 2019 to December 2019, which included 20438 participants who were ≥ 65 years old, from 36 communities and 52 villages from 14 selected centers. Dementia epidemiology and risk factors were then investigated and analyzed. Findings: Our data indicated the overall crude dementia prevalence in this population was 9·1%. The overall sex- and age-standardized prevalence was 8·8%. After stratifying by sex, age, education, location, marital status, and social activity, the prevalence was higher in females in rural areas; it not only increased significantly with increasing age, but it decreased with increased education levels. None-married and less socially active populations had a higher dementia prevalence. Not only being female, older age, rural living, lower education levels, and history of stroke were risk factors, but marital status and social activities were also probable risk factors. Interpretation: Our study indicated that dementia prevalence in China was higher in individuals aged ≥ 65 years. These findings will help policy-makers and practitioners improve treatment and management strategies to reduce dementia risk. Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 81571057). Declaration of Interest: None to declare Ethical Approval: The study protocol was approved by the ethics committee of Tianjin Huanhu Hospital (2019-40). Written informed consent was obtained from participants or their guardians.