Prevalence of Dementia among the South Korean Population.

Kim,  Sook Hui; Han,  Seol Heui

doi:2012.13.3.124

J Korean Diabetes > Volume 13(3); 2012 > Article

Focused Issue

The Journal of Korean Diabetes 2012;13(3):124-128.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4093/jkd.2012.13.3.124 Published online September 30, 2012.

한국인 치매 유병률

김숙희, 한설희

Prevalence of Dementia among the South Korean Population.

Sook Hui Kim, Seol Heui Han

Department of Neurology, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. alzdoc@kuh.ac.kr

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have found that the prevalence of dementia increases steeply with age in the elderly population, although the slope may be less steep after the 10th decade of life. Considering that South Korea now holds the distinction of having the fastest aging population in the world, a substantial increase in the prevalence of dementia in the coming years is to be expected. The prevalence of dementia depends upon the interaction of age with other factors (e.g. comorbidities or genetic or environmental factors) that in turn are subject to change. If the onset of dementia could be delayed by modulating its risk factors, its incidence could be significantly reduced. In the present review, we describe the overall prevalence of dementia and its subtype, as well as its prevalence among the South Korean population. We also describe the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment.

Key Words: Prevalence, Dementia, Mild cognitive impairment, Republic of Korea