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Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia in developing countries: prevalence, management, and risk factors
Kalaria RN, Maestre GE, Arizaga R, Friedland RP, Galasko D, Hall K, Luchsinger JA, Ogunniyi A et al.. The Lancet. Neurology, 2008-07-28
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Despite mortality due to communicable diseases, poverty, and human conflicts, dementia incidence is destined to increase in the developing world in tandem with the ageing population. Current data from developing countries suggest that age-adjusted dementia prevalence estimates in 65 year olds are high (>or=5%) in certain Asian and Latin American countries, but consistently low (1-3%) in India and sub-Saharan Africa; Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60% whereas vascular dementia accounts for approximately 30% of the prevalence. Early-onset familial forms of dementia with single-gene defects occur in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Illiteracy remains a risk factor for dementia. The APOE epsilon4 allele does not influence dementia progression in sub-Saharan Africans. Vascular factors, such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes, are likely to increase the burden of dementia. Use of traditional diets and medicinal plant extracts might aid prevention and treatment. Dementia costs in developing countries are estimated to be US$73 billion yearly, but care demands social protection, which seems scarce in these regions.
Key findings
- Current data from developing countries suggest that age-adjusted dementia prevalence estimates in 65 year olds are high (>or=5%) in certain Asian and Latin American countries, but consistently low (1-3%) in India and sub-Saharan Africa; Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60% whereas vascular dementia accounts for approximately 30% of the prevalence.
Why it matters
This 2008 review (not a new study) reports that dementia in people aged 65 was estimated at 5% or more in "certain Asian and Latin American countries" but "consistently low (1-3%) in India and sub-Saharan Africa", with Alzheimer's making up about 60% of cases and vascular dementia about 30%. It names illiteracy, hypertension and type 2 diabetes as factors linked to dementia burden, and says only that traditional diets and plant extracts "might aid" prevention, without testing any. It puts dementia costs in these regions at US$73 billion a year and notes that the social protection care requires "seems scarce".
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (The Lancet. Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | The Lancet Neurology: journal h-index 457 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2008 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 1,234 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 61.7 citations a year over 20 year(s) since 2008 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 32.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 45 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 152 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Piero Antuono: h-index 43 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California San Diego: institution h-index 1,852 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 13 institution(s) in 8 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 18667359) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/s1474-4422(08)70169-8
- PubMed: 18667359
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Kalaria, R. N., Maestre, G. E., Arizaga, R., Friedland, R. P., Galasko, D., Hall, K., et al. (2008). Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia in developing countries: prevalence, management, and risk factors. The Lancet. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(08)70169-8
Vancouver
Kalaria RN, Maestre GE, Arizaga R, Friedland RP, Galasko D, Hall K, et al. Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia in developing countries: prevalence, management, and risk factors. The Lancet. Neurology. 2008. doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(08)70169-8. PMID: 18667359.
BibTeX
@article{kalaria2008-18667359,
author = {Kalaria, R. N. and Maestre, G. E. and Arizaga, R. and Friedland, R. P. and Galasko, D. and Hall, K. and Luchsinger, J. A. and Ogunniyi, A. and others},
title = {{Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia in developing countries: prevalence, management, and risk factors}},
journal = {The Lancet. Neurology},
year = {2008},
doi = {10.1016/s1474-4422(08)70169-8},
pmid = {18667359},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(08)70169-8}
}
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