Sociodemographic Risk Factors Of Dementia Among Elderly Of Bumiputeras In Sarawak

The population in Malaysia is ageing similar to other parts of the world. Thus, the prevalence of dementia will gradually increase. Bumiputera population consists of 74.8% of the total population in Sarawak, the largest state in the whole of Malaysia. However, data regarding mental health among this group of population is limited. Objective: This study was done to determine the prevalence of dementia and its associated risk factors among the elderly Bumiputera patients in primary care clinics in Sarawak

Detection of dementia and its associated risk factors among elderly population in Kuching, Sarawak

Introduction: Prevalence of dementia is expected to increase with the rise in ageing population. Hence, screening for dementia in primary care is needed to identify dementia in its earlier stages. This study was conducted to screen elderly patients for dementia in primary care setting using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Methods: A cross sectional study was done on a group of elderly patients aged 60 years and above attending primary health care centers, using a systematic random sampling. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used to exclude patients with depression. The patients were then assessed with the MMSE for presence of dementia using the cut off score of 21