PREVALENCE ESTIMATION OF DEMENTIA IN A RURAL AREA OF KOREA

OBJECTIVES: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to estimate prevale nce of dementia and to determine factors related to dementia among res idents in a rural area, Yonchon county, Korea, in 1993. PARTICIPANTS: Of the study population more than 65 years of age (n = 2171), 1674 per sons participated in the cross-sectional survey using the Korean versi on of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-K). DESIGN: Subjects wer e defined as having dementia according to NINCDS-ADRDA criteria throug h direct interview by psychiatrists. A total of 436 subjects were sele cted randomly according to MMSE-K scores, and cases were confirmed as having either Alzheimer's or vascular dementia. RESULTS: The adjusted prevalence of dementia was estimated at 9.5%. The prevalence of total dementia was 8.8% for men and 9.9% for women. The prevalence of Alzhei mer's disease was 3.2% for men and 5.3% for women and that of vascular dementia 3.1% and 2.1%, respectively. Age standardized prevalence of Alzheimer's disease was 4.5%, whereas that of vascular dementia was 2. 5%. Using DSM-III-R criteria to stratify dementia patients according t o severity showed the prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe Alzheim er's disease was 3.4%, 0.7%, and 0.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION: These results showed that the prevalence of dementia in Korea was similar t o its presence in Western countries but different from that previously reported in other Asian countries, e.g., China and Japan.