Published in

SAGE Publications, American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, 2(27), p. 131-135, 2012

DOI: 10.1177/1533317512442371

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Prevalence of Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment in a Bulgarian Urban Population

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Background: Prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia has not been studied in Bulgaria up to date. A 2-phase cross-sectional study was designed in order to determine the prevalence of dementia, its subtypes, and mild cognitive impairment in a Bulgarian population. Methods: The study sample consisted of 605 participants over the age of 65, residents of the city of Varna. A total of 540 participants (89%) completed the screening phase of the study. All positive screens and a control group were included in the diagnostic phase of the study, where comprehensive neuropsychological, clinical, and imaging assessments were performed. Results: Dementia was diagnosed in 39 persons (7.2%) and 36 had mild cognitive impairment (6.7%). Alzheimer’s disease was the most frequent type of dementia (3.1%), followed by vascular dementia (2.0%). Discussion: Our results support the hypothesis that prevalence of vascular cognitive impairment may be higher in Bulgaria than in most European countries.