Subjective cognitive decline in Brazil: Prevalence and association with dementia modifiable risk factors in a population-based study

Wyllians Vendramini Borelli; Eduardo R Zimmer; Andrei Bieger; Bruna Coelho; Tharick A Pascoal; Márcia Lorena Fagundes Chaves; Rebecca Amariglio; Raphael Machado Castilhos

doi:10.1002/dad2.12368

Subjective cognitive decline in Brazil: Prevalence and association with dementia modifiable risk factors in a population-based study

Alzheimers Dement (Amst). 2022 Nov 14;14(1):e12368. doi: 10.1002/dad2.12368. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology Center Neurology Service Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre Porto Alegre Rio Grande do Sul Brazil.
² Graduate Research Program in Biological Sciences: Pharmacology and Therapeutics Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) Porto Alegre Rio Grande do Sul Brazil.
³ Graduate Research Program in Biological Sciences: Biochemistry Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) Porto Alegre Rio Grande do Sul Brazil.
⁴ Department of Pharmacology Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) Porto Alegre Rio Grande do Sul Brazil.
⁵ Federal University of Pelotas Pelotas Rio Grande do Sul Brazil.
⁶ Department of Neurology and Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA.
⁷ Departments of Neurology Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital Harvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.
⁸ Graduate Program in Medicine Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) Porto Alegre Rio Grande do Sul Brazil.

Abstract

Introduction: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may be an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of SCD in Brazil and its association with dementia modifiable risk factors.

Methods: We used data of 8138 participants from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil), a population-based study that included clinical and demographic variables of individuals across the country. We calculated the prevalence of SCD and its association with dementia modifiable risk factors.

Results: We found that the prevalence of SCD in Brazil was 29.21% (28.22%-30.21%), varying according to region, sex, and age. SCD was strongly associated with hearing loss, low education, psychological distress, Brown/Pardo and Black races.

Discussion: The prevalence of SCD in Brazil is higher than in high-income countries. Brown/Black races and dementia modifiable risk factors were associated with SCD. Public strategies that target SCD may help mitigate the incidence of dementia.

Keywords: Brazil; dementia; population‐based; prevalence; risk factors; subjective cognitive decline.