This prevalence is equivalent to what is reported in a systematic review of epidemiologic studies of dementia in Latin America. The National Survey of Dependency in the Elderly reported an estimated prevalence of dementia of 7.0% (women 7.7%, men 5.9%) in people aged 60 years and older. In Chile, dementia is the leading cause of dependency (36%) in older people. Dementia is the most significant global challenge for health and social care in the twenty-first century. This population ageing is associated with a strong increase in the number of people living with dementia, which is estimated to reach 140 million by 2050. By 2050, Chileans older than 60 years will increase from the current 15.7% of the population to 32.9%, while people older than 80 years will reach 10.3%. Among the countries in this region, Chile shows one of the fastest life expectancy growth rates. This demographic change is advancing faster in Latin America (LA) than in European and North American countries : by 2025, the total number of individuals over 60 years old will reach approximately 57 million. Within the same period, the increase in the population over 80 years old will be even more pronounced, going from 1.7 to 4.5% of the population. World population over 60 years old is now 12% and is expected to reach 21.5% by the year 2050. Population ageing, driven by rising life expectancies and declining fertility rates, is one of the most important transformations the world is undergoing today. The aim of our GERO group is to establish the capacity to foster cutting edge and multidisciplinary research on aging in Chile including basic and clinical research. Our work will allow us to determine multidimensional risks factors associated with functional decline and conversion to dementia in elderly with subjective cognitive complain. In addition, in months 6, 12, 24, and 30, a telephone interview is performed in order to keep contact with the participants and to assess general well-being. This multidimensional evaluation is carried out in a baseline and 2 follow-ups assessments, at 18 and 36 months. Neuroimaging, blood and stool samples are also obtained. The protocol for evaluation is based on a multidimensional approach including socio-demographic, biomedical, psychosocial, neuropsychological, neuropsychiatric and motor assessments. Participants are identified through a household census. Eligible people are adults not diagnosed with dementia with subjective cognitive complaint, which are reported either by the participant, a proxy or both. The GERO cohort aims the recruitment of 300 elderly subjects (> 70 years) from Santiago (Chile), following them up for at least 3 years. We also aim to undertake clinical research on brain ageing and dementia disorders, to create data and biobanks with the appropriate infrastructure to conduct other studies and facilitate to the national and international scientific community access to the data and samples for research.
The objective of the GERO cohort is to analyze the rate of functional decline and progression to clinical dementia and their associated risk factors in a community-dwelling elderly with subjective cognitive complaint, through a population-based study.
The GERO cohort is the Chilean core clinical project of the Geroscience Center for Brain Health and Metabolism (GERO). Cognitive complaint is considered a predictor for cognitive and functional decline, incident mild cognitive impairment, and incident dementia. In Chile, dementia is one of the most important causes of disability in the elderly and the most rapidly growing cause of death in the last 20 years. With the global population aging and life expectancy increasing, dementia has turned a priority in the health care system.
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