Cross-Sectional and Prospective Associations between Parkinsonism and Parkinson's Disease with Frailty in Latin America.

Background: Little is known about the relationship between parkinsonism or Parkinson's disease (PD) and frailty in Latin America.

Objective: The study aimed to determine the cross-sectional and prospective associations between parkinsonism and PD with frailty in a large multi-country cohort in Latin America. Frailty was assessed using three different models to explore which definitions are more appropriate to screen for frailty in a PD population.

Prevalence and Incidence of Parkinson's Disease in Latin America: A Meta-Analysis.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a rapidly growing neurodegenerative disorder, but up-to-date epidemiological data are lacking in Latin America. We sought to estimate the prevalence and incidence of PD and parkinsonism in Latin America.

Methods: We searched Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Scientific Electronic Library Online, and Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde or the Latin American and Caribbean Health Science Literature databases for epidemiological studies reporting the prevalence or incidence of PD or parkinsonism in Latin America from their inception to 2022.

Burden of Parkinsonism and Parkinson's Disease on Health Service Use and Outcomes in Latin America.

Background: Little is known about the burden of parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease (PD) in Latin America. Better understanding of health service use and clinical outcomes in PD is needed to improve its prognosis.

Objective: The aim of the study was to estimate the burden of parkinsonism and PD in six Latin American countries.

Exploring the natural history of intrinsic capacity impairments: longitudinal patterns in the 10/66 study.

Background: intrinsic capacity (IC) is a construct encompassing people's physical and mental abilities. There is an implicit link amongst IC domains: cognition, locomotion, nutrition, sensory and psychological. However, little is known about the integration of the domains.

Prevalence and impact of neuropsychiatric symptoms in normal aging and neurodegenerative syndromes: A population-based study from Latin America.

Background: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) are common in neurodegenerative diseases; however, little is known about the prevalence of NPSs in Hispanic populations.

Methods: Using data from community-dwelling participants age 65 years and older enrolled in the 10/66 study (N = 11,768), we aimed to estimate the prevalence of NPSs in Hispanic populations with dementia, parkinsonism, and parkinsonism-dementia (PDD) relative to healthy aging. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) was used to assess NPSs.

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, dementia, and memory performance among Caribbean Hispanic versus US populations.

Introduction: Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is considered the major susceptibility gene for developing Alzheimer's disease. However, the strength of this risk factor is not well established across diverse Hispanic populations.

Methods: We investigated the associations among APOE genotype, dementia prevalence, and memory performance (immediate and delayed recall scores) in Caribbean Hispanics (CH), African Americans (AA), Hispanic Americans (HA) and non-Hispanic White Americans (NHW).

Prevalence of parkinsonism and Parkinson disease in urban and rural populations from Latin America: A community based study.

Background: Age and gender specific prevalence rates for parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease (PD) are important to guide research, clinical practice, and public health planning; however, prevalence estimates in Latin America (LatAm) are limited. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of parkinsonism and PD and examine related risk factors in a cohort of elderly individuals from Latin America (LatAm).

Methods: Data from 11,613 adults (65+ years) who participated in a baseline assessment of the 10/66 study and lived in six LatAm countries were analyzed to estimate parkinsonism and PD prevalence.

Loneliness Among Older Adults in Latin America, China, and India: Prevalence, Correlates and Association With Mortality.

This study was designed to explore prevalence and correlates of self-reported loneliness and to investigate whether loneliness predicts mortality among older adults (aged 65 or above) in Latin America, China and India. The study investigated population-based cross-sectional (2003-2007) and longitudinal surveys (follow-up 2007-2010) from the 10/66 Dementia Research Group project. Poisson regression and Cox regression analyses were conducted to analyse correlates of loneliness and its association with mortality.

Working Group Recommendations for the Practice of Teleneuropsychology in Latin America.

Objective: Teleneuropsychology (teleNP) could potentially expand access to services for patients who are confined, have limited personal access to healthcare, or live in remote areas. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased the use of teleNP for cognitive assessments. The main objective of these recommendations is to identify which procedures can be potentially best adapted to the practice of teleNP in Latin America, and thereby facilitate professional decision-making in the region.

Intrinsic capacity and its associations with incident dependence and mortality in 10/66 Dementia Research Group studies in Latin America, India, and China: A population-based cohort study.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) has reframed health and healthcare for older people around achieving the goal of healthy ageing. The recent WHO Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) guidelines focus on maintaining intrinsic capacity, i.e.

Associations between education and dementia in the Caribbean and the United States: An international comparison.

Introduction: Despite high dementia prevalence in Hispanic populations globally, especially Caribbean Hispanics, no study has comparatively examined the association between education and dementia among Hispanics living in the Caribbean Islands and older adults in the United States.

Methods: We used data on 6107 respondents aged 65 and older in the baseline wave of the population-based and harmonized 10/66 survey from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, collected between 2003 and 2008, and 11,032 respondents aged 65 and older from the U.S.

Cuba's cardiovascular risk factors: International comparison of levels and education gradients.

Background: Cuba's life expectancy at 79 is third highest in Latin America. Many attribute this to social investments in health and education, but comparative research is sparse, thus we compare Cuba with neighboring Dominican Republic, Costa Rica due to its strong social protections, and the U.S.

Race, Genetic Admixture, and Cognitive Performance in the Cuban Population.

Background: Population aging will lead to a dramatic increase in dementia prevalence, which will disproportionally affect racial minorities. The presence of racial differences in dementia prevalence has been widely reported in United States, but there are no relevant studies on this topic in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods: In a cross-sectional survey, 2944 older Cubans were recruited at a community-based level aimed to identify the effects of self-identified race and genetic admixture on cognitive performance.

Dementia Research in the Caribbean Hispanic Islands: Present Findings and Future Trends.

During the last decade, the Caribbean Hispanic islands experienced accelerated demographic aging, representing the fastest aging region within Latin America. Age-related non-communicable diseases, including dementia, are now reported at high prevalence. The Caribbean islands share similar genetic ancestry, culture, migration patterns, and risk profiles, providing a unique setting to understand dementia in the Caribbean-Hispanics.

The impact of SARS-CoV-2 in dementia across Latin America: A call for an urgent regional plan and coordinated response.

The SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic will disproportionately impact countries with weak economies and vulnerable populations including people with dementia. Latin American and Caribbean countries (LACs) are burdened with unstable economic development, fragile health systems, massive economic disparities, and a high prevalence of dementia. Here, we underscore the selective impact of SARS-CoV-2 on dementia among LACs, the specific strain on health systems devoted to dementia, and the subsequent effect of increasing inequalities among those with dementia in the region.

Dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease in Latin America: Genetic heterogeneity and clinical phenotypes.

Introduction: A growing number of dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease (DIAD) cases have become known in Latin American (LatAm) in recent years. However, questions regarding mutation distribution and frequency by country remain open.

Methods: A literature review was completed aimed to provide estimates for DIAD pathogenic variants in the LatAm population.

A Brief Digital Cognitive Assessment for Detection of Cognitive Impairment in Cuban Older Adults.

Background: Rapid technological advances offer a possibility to develop cost-effective digital cognitive assessment tools. However, it is unclear whether these measures are suitable for application in populations from Low and middle-income countries (LMIC).

Objective: To examine the accuracy and validity of the Brain Health Assessment (BHA) in detecting cognitive impairment in a Cuban population.

Risk Factors for Incident Dementia Among Older Cubans.

Little is known about risk factors of dementia in Latin American countries. We aimed to identify socio-demographic, health and lifestyle risk factors of incident dementia in Cuban older adults. Data were from 1,846 participants in the Cuban cohort of the 10/66 Dementia Research Group.

Education and the moderating roles of age, sex, ethnicity and apolipoprotein epsilon 4 on the risk of cognitive impairment.

Background: We examined how the relationship between education and latelife cognitive impairment (defined as a Mini Mental State Examination score below 24) is influenced by age, sex, ethnicity, and Apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 (APOE*4).

Methods: Participants were 30,785 dementia-free individuals aged 55-103 years, from 18 longitudinal cohort studies, with an average follow-up ranging between 2 and 10 years. Pooled hazard ratios were obtained from multilevel parametric survival analyses predicting cognitive impairment (CI) from education and its interactions with baseline age, sex, APOE*4 and ethnicity.

Prediction of dementia risk in low-income and middle-income countries (the 10/66 Study): an independent external validation of existing models.

Background: To date, dementia prediction models have been exclusively developed and tested in high-income countries (HICs). However, most people with dementia live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), where dementia risk prediction research is almost non-existent and the ability of current models to predict dementia is unknown. This study investigated whether dementia prediction models developed in HICs are applicable to LMICs.

The association between, depression, anxiety, and mortality in older people across eight low- and middle-income countries: Results from the 10/66 cohort study.

Objectives: Depression and anxiety are common mental disorders in later life. Few population-based studies have investigated their potential impacts on mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim of this study is to examine the associations between depression, anxiety, their comorbidity, and mortality in later life using a population-based cohort study across eight LMICs.