Detecting Cognitive Decline and Dementia in Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

<p> <p id="x-x-x-x-__p1"> <strong> Objective: </strong> To assess the cognitive function, prevalence, and risk factors associated with cognitive decline and dementia in people above 65 years of age in Santa Cruz Island, Gal&aacute;pagos, Ecuador. <p id="x-x-x-x-__p3"> <strong> Methods: </strong> This is a cross-sectional observational study that was carried out in adults over 65 years of age in Santa Cruz Island, Gal&aacute;pagos, Ecuador. The mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and ascertain dementia eight-item informant questionnaire (AD8)-validated Ecuador Spanish versions were used to assess cognition. <p id="x-x-x-x-__p5"> <strong> Results: </strong> There were a total of 80 participants, 55 (67%) women and 25 (31.2%) men. The majority of participants were Mestizos (85.3%), with the remainder classified as White (4.8%), Afro-Ecuadorians (2.4%), or Indigenous (3.6%). The prevalence of cognitive impairment is 30.0%-43.7%. The MMSE results showed that older age and lack of education are risk factors for cognitive decline (p &lt; 0.01). There was high correlation between MMSE and AD8 scores. The AD8 showed that older age, widowhood, and living in Santa Rosa were risk factors for cognitive decline (p &lt; 0.01). According to the AD8, the group with the highest education (six years or more) had the lowest risk of cognitive decline and dementia (p &lt; 0.01). <p id="x-x-x-x-__p7"> <strong> Conclusions: </strong> The main risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia in individuals above 65 years old in Santa Cruz Island, Gal&aacute;pagos, Ecuador are increased age, lack of education, and widowhood. The prevalence of cognitive impairment is similar to previous studies in Ecuador. </p> <p> <strong> Keywords: </strong> galapagos, cognitive decline, alzheimer&rsquo;s dementia, dementia, memory loss </p> </p> </p> </p></p>