Affiliations 

  • 1 A K Rashid, MBBS, MHSc, PhD. Penang Medical College, Department of Public Health Medicine, 4 Jalan Sepoy Lines, 10450 Georgetown, Pulau Pinang Malaysia. drrashid10@gmail.com or rashid@pmc.edu.my
  • 2 A M Azizah, MBBS, MPH. State Health Department, Tingkat 37, KOMTAR, 10590 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
  • 3 S Rohana, MD. Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Penang Hospital, Jalan Residensi,10990 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
Med J Malaysia, 2012 Apr;67(2):186-9.
PMID: 22822641 MyJurnal

Abstract

Cognitive impairment is a common psychiatric problem among the elderly. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of cognitive impairment among the elderly Malays living in a rural community in north Malaysia. A cross sectional study was conducted among the elderly population of 22 villages in north Malaysia. Elderly cognitive assessment questionnaire was used to determine the cognition status. Analysis was done using SPSS version 13. The prevalence of cognitive impairment among the older adults in these villages was 11% (n=46). There was an increasing prevalence of cognitive impairment with increasing age (p < 0.05). Being unmarried (OR 2.31), unemployed (OR 2.74) and living alone (OR 2.32) were significantly associated with the risk of being cognitively impairment. Being unemployed (OR 2.29) was a significant predictor variable for cognitive impairment. Similar to other studies conducted in Malaysia the prevalence of cognitive impairment was high.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.