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Objective: The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of cognitive impairment among elderly people in rural Haryana, India and determine its association with smoking, alcohol consumption and impairments. Material and Methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional study carried out among 575 elderly people aged 60 years and above in the rural field practice area of a medical college in the Haryana state of India. Cognitive impairment was evaluated by the Mini-Cog test. To determine factors associated with cognitive impairment, unadjusted odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval were obtained and binary logistic regression analysis was carried out to calculate adjusted odds ratios. Results: Cognitive impairment was found in 4.5% of the elderly subjects. Those aged 75 years and more, currently not married, illiterate, elderly living alone, current smokers, currently consuming alcohol and elderly with visual, hearing or activities of daily living (ADL) impairments had significantly higher cognitive impairment. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that illiteracy (adjusted OR=3.173, p-value=0.033), living alone (adjusted OR=6.299, p-value=0.015), current tobacco smoking (adjusted OR=5.393, p-value=0.029), current alcohol drinking (adjusted OR=7.360, p-value=0.001) and ADL impairment (adjusted OR=6.427, p-value=0.001) were independently associated with cognitive impairment. Conclusion: Tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and ADL impairment were independently associated with cognitive impairment in the elderly people of Haryana state of India. Early screening and timely intervention for signs of cognitive decline may help in improving their quality of life.
Khan et al. (Tue,) studied this question.