Determinants of poor cognitive function using A-IQCODE among Lebanese older adults: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Dementia characterized by gradual cognitive decline is an increasing public health problem due to population ageing. This study aims at assessing the prevalence and determinants of cognitive decline among Lebanese older adults.

Methods: Secondary analysis of data from a cross-sectional sample of 502 elders from two Lebanese governorates was conducted. Cognitive decline was assessed using the Arabic Version of 16-item Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline for the older adults (A-IQCODE 16). A multivariable logistic regression model assessed the associations of socio-demographic, clinical and behavioral factors with the presence of cognitive decline.

Results: Almost one of six Lebanese older adults (14.8%) scored below 3.34. Higher odds of cognitive decline were associated with higher age, being female, having heart disease and suffering from depression. Pack-years of cigarette smoking showed a protective effect and this relationship seems to be only statistically significant among older adults aged more than 75 years.

Conclusions: Screening programs of cardiovascular risk factors and early detection of depression are ‘best buy’ public health interventions that could prevent cognitive decline among Lebanese older adults. Differential survival bias seems the reasonable explanation for the protective effect of smoking that is not the common finding from the literature.

KEYWORDS:

• Cognitive decline
• IQCODE
• geriatric epidemiology

Acknowledgments

The study was funded by the Fogarty International Center, American National Institute of Health and National Institute of Aging, grant number 1R21AG039333-01 under the program ‘Brain Disorders in the Developing World: Research Across Lifespan (BRAIN)’. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies. The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Gunhild Waldemar, the Co-principal investigator and Dr. Kieu Phung, the NIH study coordinator, for their valuable contribution in conceptualizing and implementing the NIH study. Both are from the Danish Dementia Research Center (DDRC), Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Denmark. Ms. Yasmine Abou Taha, Graduate from Faculty of Arts and Sciences, at the American University of Beirut, has edited the manuscript..

Disclosure statement

None of the co-authors declared any conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Fogarty International Center, American National Institute of Health and National Institute of Aging [grant number 1R21AG039333-01]..