A new study published in the journal Neuroepidemiology has found that over 10 million older adults aged 60 or more in India may have dementia. This prevalence rate is comparable to rates recorded in the US, the UK, and other countries. The research used an artificial intelligence (AI) technique called semi-supervised machine learning to analyze data from 31,477 older adults. The researchers discovered that the prevalence of dementia among individuals aged 60 or above in India is remarkably high at 8.44 percent, equivalent to 10.08 million senior citizens in the country.
The AI learning model utilized in the study was created by a group of researchers from various institutions, including the University of Surrey, the University of Michigan, the University of Southern California, and also the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The model was fed with data, which included a labeled dataset of approximately 70 percent that had dementia diagnoses obtained through a new online consensus. The remaining 30 percent of the data was utilized to gauge the accuracy of the AI's predictions.
The research concluded that the rates of dementia were greater in older people, women, people who received no education and those who lived in rural areas. According to Haomiao Jin, who is a co-author of the study and a Health Data Sciences Lecturer at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, the investigation was founded on the sole national study on aging in India, which included over 30,000 senior citizens from the country.
Surprisingly, the AI taught itself to predict dementia status for unlabeled observations without dementia diagnoses in the dataset. Professor Adrian Hilton, who is the Director of the University of Surrey's Institute for People-Centered AI, commented that the study demonstrated the great potential of AI to identify patterns in complicated data. This capability can contribute to a better understanding of how diseases affect various populations, which can then be used to create precise medical interventions that could potentially save lives.
FAQs:
Q1: What technique did the researchers use to analyze data for the study on dementia prevalence in India?
The researchers utilized a semi-supervised machine learning technique known as artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze data from 31,477 older adults.
Q2: What were some of the factors associated with a higher prevalence of dementia in India, according to the study?
The prevalence of dementia was found to be higher among older people, women, those who received no education, and those living in rural areas, according to the study.
