Epidemiology of mild cognitive impairment in Brazil

With the worldwide increase in longevity and rising prevalence of cognitive disorders in the aged population, efforts have been made to characterize mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and its prevalence and/or incidence in a number of countries, given MCI may be a pre-dementia phase of degenerative conditions. The aim of this review was to retrieve the available data on the prevalence and incidence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Brazil and compare these with rates found by studies conducted in other countries. The Pubmed and Scielo databases were searched using the following search terms: mild cognitive impairment, prevalence, incidence, including studies in both English and Portuguese languages. Only one study on MCI prevalence has been published in Brazil, reporting a prevalence rate of 6.1% and incidence of 13.2/1000 persons-year among those aged 60 years or over. Prevalence rates for other countries are also reported. The prevalence and incidence of MCI found in Brazil is similar to rates observed in other countries.