1 in 5 Indian adults over 60 show signs of mild neurocognitive disorder: Study

Almost 1 in 5 Indian adults aged over 60 years show signs of mild neurocognitive disorder according to a studyGiven an estimated 138 million adults over 60 years of age in India these estimates suggest approximately 24 million and 99 million older adults in India are living with mild and major neurocognitive disorder respectively revealed the study published in the journal PLOS OneThe findings showed that the prevalence of major neurocognitive disorder was greater with older ages from about 4 per cent among those aged 6064 years to 152 per cent among those aged over 80 yearsIndia with its rapidly aging population faces an alarming burden of dementia said the team including from St Johnrsquos Medical College in Bengaluru and Johns Hopkins University in the USFor the study the team recruited almost 4100 participants residing in 18 geographically and linguistically diverse states such as Jammu amp Kashmir Punjab Delhi West Bengal Maharashtra Karnataka Tamil Nadu among others The majority of the group was aged 6079 yearsThey found that the prevalence is higher with older age less educational attainment and among illiterate and ruralliving older adultsThese findings highlight the growing importance of dementia in IndiaThe prevalence of dementia in India is higher than previously recognised These findings coupled with a growing number of older adults in the coming decades in India have important implications for society public health and families the researchers said in the paperThe team analysed the participants using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM5 a widely recognised clinical diagnostic authorityTbe results showed that the population prevalence of DSM5 mild and major neurocognitive disorder was 176 per cent and 72 per cent respectivelyFurther 12 per cent reported severe loss in at least one ADL activities of daily living and 85 per cent reported impairment in any IADL instrumental activities of daily livingMajor neurocognitive disorder was more prevalent among illiterate 93 per cent than literate 5 per cent and rural 103 per cent than urban 49 per centThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever