Læknablaðið - 15.10.1997, Page 22

646
LÆKNABLAÐIÐ 1997; 83
Faraldsfræðileg rannsókn á vitrænni
getu aldraðra á tveimur aðskildum
landsvæðum á íslandi
Jón Snædal1), Grétar Guðmundsson2), Jón Eyjólfur Jónsson3), Þuríður J. Jónsdóttir4)
Snædal J, Guðmundsson G, Jónsson JE, Jónsdóttir
ÞJ
Epidcmiological study on cognitive abilities in the
elderly in two separate rural areas in Iceland
Læknablaðið 1997; 83: 646-53
Objectives: This study was undertaken to estimate
the cognitive abilities in an elderly population in
rural areas in Iceland and to get an idea of the
prevalence of dementia. By examining inhabitants
in two different areas it was further possible to de-
tect any possible difference in these areas.
Material and methods: All persons aged 70 and
over, living independently in the community and in
institutions in two geographically separate areas
were contacted. The areas were an agricultural (ar-
ea A) and a fishing (area F) one. Four simple neu-
ropsychological tests where used, the MMSE (Mini
Mental State Examination), WAIS (Wechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale)-Similarities, Trail making test A
and Trail making test B. Two students in psychology
and a teacher were trained in applying the tests but
the results were scored and interpreted by the au-
thors.
Results: In area A, 280 of 353 (79.3%) participated
and in area F, 190 of 238 (79.8%). Participation was
thus similar in both areas. There was a highly signif-
icant difference in all the tests with p<0.01 in Trail
making test B but p<0.001 in the other three tests.
In all the tests the results were better among the
Frá '’öldrunarlækningadeild Sjúkrahúss Reykjavíkur,
Landakoti, 2)taugalækningadeild, 3)öldrunarlækningadeild
og 4)endurhæfingardeild Landspitalans. Fyrirspurnir, bréfa-
skipti: Jón Snædal, öldrunarlækningadeild Sjúkrahúss
Reykjavíkur, Landakoti, 101 Reykjavik. Sími: 525 1800;
bréfsími: 525 1819.
Lykilorð: heilabilun, faraldsfræði, algengi, minnispróf.
population in area A. The prevalence of dementia as
estimated by the MMSE showed a prevalence of
14.4% in area A and 35.7% in area F.
Conclusion: A significant difference in cognitive
abilities was found between the elderly inhabitants
of two separate rural areas in Iceland. There is sub-
stantial evidence to suggest that this difference is
real but it is however not clear if the prevalence of
dementia is higher in this study than in others. It is
postulated that the difference found is due to cultur-
al differences.
From 1>Dpt. of Geriatric Medicine, Reykjavík Hospital, 2)Dpt.
of Neurology, 3)Division of Geriatric Medicine and 4)Dpt. of
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Landspítalinn.
Correspondence: Jón Snædal Dpt. of Geriatric Medicine,
Reykjavík Hospital, Landakoti, 101 Reykjavík. Tel.: (354)
525 1800; fax: (354) 525 1819.
Key words: dementia, cognitive tests, epidemiology, prev-
alence.
Ágrip
Markmið: Markmið rannsóknarinnar var
annars vegar að fá vitneskju um vitræna hæfi-
leika aldraðra íslendinga í afmörkuðu dreifbýli
og hins vegar að fá hugmynd um algengi heila-
bilunar. Með því að skoða tvö aðskilin land-
svæði var einnig unnt að meta hvort munur
gæti verið á milli þeirra í þessu tilliti.
Efniviður og aðferðir: Valin voru tvö aðskil-
in landsvæði. í öðru þeirra hefur aðalatvinnu-
vegur verið landbúnaður (svæði L) en í hinu
sjávarútvegur (svæði S). Notast var við fjögur
einföld próf á vitræna getu, MMS-próf (Mini
Mental State Examination), líkingar úr WAIS
greindarprófi Wechslers (Wechsler Adult Int-
elligence Scale) fyrir fullorðna, slóðarpróf A
og slóðarpróf B. Þjálfaðir voru tveir sálfræði-
nemar og kennari í fyrirlagningu prófanna, en