Associations Among Health Insurance Type, Cardiovascular Risk Factors, and the Risk of Dementia: A Prospective Cohort Study in Korea

So-Hyun Moon, Hyun-Ju Seo, Dong Young Lee, Seong Min Kim and Jeong Min Park
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So-Hyun Moon: Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju 61452, Korea
Hyun-Ju Seo: Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju 61452, Korea
Dong Young Lee: Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital and Seoul Metropolitan Center for Dementia (SMCD), Seoul 03080, Korea
Seong Min Kim: Department of Nursing Science, Jeonbuk Science College, Jeollabuk-do 56204, Korea
Jeong Min Park: Department of Nursing Science, Nambu University, Gwangju 62271, Korea

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 14, 1-9

Abstract: Due to an aging population, dementia incidence has rapidly increased in South Korea, heaping psychological and economic burdens upon families and the society. This study was aimed at investigating the associations of health insurance type and cardiovascular risk factors with the risk of dementia. The study was performed using data from 15,043 participants aged 60 years and above, enrolled in the Seoul Dementia Management Project in 2008 and followed up until 2012. Factors such as demographic data, health insurance type, lifestyle factors, and cardiovascular risk factors were subjected to Cox proportional hazard regression analysis to identify their associations with dementia incidence. During the follow-up, 495 participants (3.3%) developed dementia. Medical Aid beneficiaries were associated with an increase in the risk of dementia (hazard ratio [HR] 1.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.421–2.215). Upon analyzing a composite cardiovascular risk score derived from all five cardiovascular risk factors, the risk for dementia incidence in participants increased from 1.56 for the presence of three risk factors to 2.55 for that of four risk factors (HR 2.55, 95% CI 1.174–5.546), compared with those who had no risk factors. The Medical Aid beneficiaries of health insurance type and the presence of multiple cardiovascular risk factors were found to be associated with a higher risk of dementia incidence.

Keywords: social class; risk factor; dementia; aged; association (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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