Incidence of dementia in elderly Latin Americans: Results of the Maracaibo Aging Study.

Introduction: There are few longitudinal studies of dementia in developing countries. We used longitudinal data from the Maracaibo Aging Study to accurately determine the age- and sex-specific incidence of dementia in elderly Latin Americans.

Methods: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition, Text Revision) was used to diagnose dementia, which was classified as Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, or other.

[Reference values of energy for the Venezuelan population].

The project of updating the Venezuelan energy reference values respond to the recommendations made by an FAO experts committee, several decades ago for the countries assuming this work. Because of the dramatic changes experienced globally regarding energy intake/expenditure and particularly variations on the Venezuelan nutritional scenario with the presence of "the double burden of malnutrition" it a review of Energy Reference Values (VRE) from a more integral approach is pertinent. This report follows the methodology proposed by FAO/WHO/UNU 2004 experts committee and energy reference values were established by group of age and gender, also average energy values for Venezuelan population were obtained.

Basic anthropometry and health status of elderly: findings of the Maracaibo Aging Study.

Objective: Determine basic anthropometry for elderly participants in a Venezuelan community and compare results for subgroups with different health status.

Method: Standardized anthropometric, nutritional, neurological, neuropsychiatric, and cardiovascular assessments generated data on weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) by sex and age for the total sample, for normative groups without health problems that might impact anthropometry, and for reference groups with no major health problems. Centile curves of anthropometric measurements versus age are determined for women and men in the normative group.