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Prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in indigenous Bolivian forager‐horticulturalists
Author(s) -
Gatz Margaret,
Mack Wendy J.,
Chui Helena C.,
Law E. Meng,
Barisano Giuseppe,
Sutherland M. Linda,
Sutherland James D.,
Eid Rodriguez Daniel,
Quispe Gutierrez Raul,
Copajira Adrian Juan,
Bani Cuata Jesus,
Borenstein Amy R.,
Walters Ellen E.,
Irimia Andrei,
Rowan Christopher J.,
Wann L. Samuel,
Allam Adel H.,
Thompson Randall C.,
Miyamoto Michael I.,
Michalik David E.,
Cummings Daniel K.,
Seabright Edmond,
Garcia Angela R.,
Hooper Paul L.,
Kraft Thomas S.,
Finch Caleb E.,
Thomas Gregory S.,
Stieglitz Jonathan,
Trumble Benjamin C.,
Gurven Michael D.,
Kaplan Hillard
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1002/alz.12626
Subject(s) - dementia , medicine , confidence interval , cohort , population , cognition , pediatrics , cognitive disorder , gerontology , psychiatry , disease , environmental health
We evaluated the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in indigenous Tsimane and Moseten, who lead a subsistence lifestyle. Methods Participants from population‐based samples ≥ 60 years of age ( n = 623) were assessed using adapted versions of the Modified Mini‐Mental State Examination, informant interview, longitudinal cognitive testing and brain computed tomography (CT) scans. Results Tsimane exhibited five cases of dementia (among n = 435; crude prevalence = 1.2%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.4, 2.7); Moseten exhibited one case (among n = 169; crude prevalence = 0.6%, 95% CI: 0.0, 3.2), all age ≥ 80 years. Age‐standardized MCI prevalence was 7.7% (95% CI: 5.2, 10.3) in Tsimane and 9.8% (95% CI: 4.9, 14.6) in Moseten. Cognitive impairment was associated with visuospatial impairments, parkinsonian symptoms, and vascular calcification in the basal ganglia. Discussion The prevalence of dementia in this cohort is among the lowest in the world. Widespread intracranial medial arterial calcifications suggest a previously unrecognized, non‐Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia phenotype.