Prevalence of dementia among elderly people in Troina, Sicily

We performed a two-stage survey on the prevalence of dementia among people aged over 74 in Troina, northern Sicily, Italy. During the first stage people were screened by the Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE), previously validated in our population for the cut-off score with 100% sensitivity and the best specificity to diagnose dementia. During the second stage people scoring 19 or less at the MMSE test were invited to be examined by a neurologist who diagnosed dementia according to DSM-III R. Out of 365 subjects of the initial sample 347 were screened by MMSE test and 163 scored 19 or less. Of these, 135 were neurologically and neuropsychologically examined in the second stage, and 80 proved to be demented. The minimal estimate of prevalence of dementia in our sample was 21.9% (21.9% men, 21.8% women). The poor education and psychosocial life may be the underlying condition favoring dementia in this sample of elderly people.