Abstract: ObjectiveTo investigate the epidemiology of senile dementia in Shanghai.Methods15158 residents aged 65 or over were selected by stratified random cluster sampling from 3 districts in Shanghai. Two stages was carried to ascertain dementia: in the first stage, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Activity of Daily Living Scale (ADL) were used as screening tools; in the second stage, DSM-Ⅳ criteria for dementia was applied to diagnosis.ResultsScreening positive rate of MMSE and ADL are both 9.9%. 1271 cases of elderly with dementia were identified. The crude and age-standardized prevalence in residents aged 65 or over was 8.1% and 6.1%. The female, older age, lower education and worse marriage seemed to be more susceptible to senile dementia(P<0.01).ConclusionSenile dementia has become one of major diseases harmful to elderly's health.

Key words: senile dementia, screening, prevalence, study