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Predictors of poor cognitive status among older Malaysian adults: baseline findings from the LRGS TUA cohort study

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Abstract

Background

Concepts of successful aging (SA), usual aging (UA), and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have been developed to identify older adults at high risk of Alzheimer's diseases (AD), however, the predictors have rarely been investigated in a single study. Thus, this study aims to explore the risk factors of MCI as compared to UA and SA among older adults, in a large community based cohort study in Malaysia.

Method

1993 subjects from four states in Malaysia were recruited. A comprehensive interview-based questionnaire was administered to determine socio-demographic information, followed by assessments to evaluate cognitive function, functional status, dietary intake, lifestyle and psychosocial status. Risk factors of cognitive impairment were assessed using the ordinal logistic regression (OLR).

Result

The prevalence of SA, UA and MCI in this study was 11, 73 and 16 % respectively. OLR indicated that higher fasting blood sugar, hyperlipidemia, disability, lower education level, not regularly involved in technical based activities, limited use of modern technologies, lower intake of fruits and fresh fruit juices and not practicing calorie restriction were among the risk factors of poor cognitive performance in this study.

Conclusion

This study will be a stepping stone for future researchers to develop intervention strategies to prevent cognitive decline.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support under the Longterm Research Grant Scheme (LRGS) provided by Ministry of Education Malaysia (LRGS/BU/2012/UKM–UKM/K/01).We would like to express our gratitude to all co-researchers, fieldworkers, staffs, local authorities and subjects for their willingness to cooperate with us to make our study a success.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dietetic Programme, School of Healthcare Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 50300, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Divya Vanoh & Suzana Shahar

  2. Health Psychology Programme, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Normah Che Din

  3. Institute of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Jalan Bangsar, Federal Hill, 59000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Azahadi Omar

  4. Ageing and Age-Associated Disorders Research Group, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Chin Ai Vyrn

  5. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Rosdinom Razali

  6. Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43300, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Rahimah Ibrahim & Tengku Aizan Hamid

Authors
  1. Divya Vanoh
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  2. Suzana Shahar
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  3. Normah Che Din
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Suzana Shahar.

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Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Participants in this study was recruited after obtaining inform consent.

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Vanoh, D., Shahar, S., Din, N.C. et al. Predictors of poor cognitive status among older Malaysian adults: baseline findings from the LRGS TUA cohort study. Aging Clin Exp Res 29, 173–182 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-016-0553-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-016-0553-2

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