Cognitive health of Moscow residents 55 years and older: Epidemiological data

Objective. To study the prevalence of cognitive impairment (CI) in persons aged ≥55 years living in the city of Moscow, based on the data from the program for the preservation of cognitive skills and psycho-emotional health implemented at the Moscow Longevity Centers. Material and methods. The study used a depersonalized electronic database containing the results of the specialized computer training course, «Neurotraining of Cognitive Skills», which is part of the program implemented at the Moscow Longevity Centers. The final analysis included 33.164 subjects aged 55 and older who completed a Cognitive Assessment Questionnaire during the course, including both data on the functioning of individual cognitive domains (memory, attention, and reasoning) and an integrative assessment of CIs. The median age was 67.0 62.0; 73.0 years. In this group, females accounted for 85.35%. The majority of program participants had higher education (74.62%) and were right-handed (97.61%). Results. Evaluation of individual cognitive domains using the Questionnaire showed that most participants (75.29%) had decreased attention, varying in severity. However, evaluation of individual responses to the Questionnaire (86.85%) showed that most participants reported memory impairment as their main complaint. According to the data of the integrative assessment of the CI prevalence according to the Questionnaire, the following results were obtained: 49.59% of the subjects had possible moderate cognitive impairment and 9.09% of the subjects had possible severe cognitive impairment. The older the program participants were, the more pronounced the decrease in memory, attention, reasoning, and the integrative CI assessment was observed (r=0.038, r=0.035, r=0.096, and r=0.051, p<0.01, respectively). Conclusion. The results of our data analysis complemented the epidemiological statistics on the prevalence of cognitive impairment among persons aged 55 and older in the city of Moscow. The results indicate the need for cognitive screening in persons 55 years and older to timely detect CI, determine the appropriate route, and administer the necessary therapy, including non-drug methods for CI correction.