Abstract: Objective To analyze the spatial distribution of the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction and its risk factors in Chinese population aged 45 years and above to provide evidence for formulating regional prevention and control strategies. Methods The study subjects with complete cognitive function data were selected from the follow-up data of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) Phase IV. ArcGis 10.4 software was used for spatial analysis of the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction in the population aged 45 years and above for each province based on the geographic information system (GIS) technology. Results In 2018, the overall prevalence of cognitive dysfunction was 33.59% (5951/17716) in individuals aged 45 and above in China. Global spatial autocorrelation analysis indicated a spatial clustering and a positive autocorrelation (P<0.001) of the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction in the study subjects, with a Moran's I value of 0.333085. The results of local spatial autocorrelation analysis showed that the southwestern region of China was the main aggregation area of patients with cognitive dysfunction. Geographically weighted regression analysis suggested that a male gender, an advanced age, and illiteracy were the major risk factors for cognitive dysfunction (P<0.05). These 3 risk factors showed a spatial distribution heterogeneity with greater impact in the northern, western, and northwestern regions of China, respectively. Conclusion The prevalence of cognitive dysfunction is relatively high in individuals aged 45 years and above in China. A male gender, an advanced age, and illiteracy are the major risk factors for cognitive dysfunction and show different spatial distribution patterns, with the northern, western and northwestern regions of China as the key areas for prevention and control, where the prevention and control measures should be designed based on local conditions.

Key words: cognitive dysfunction; spatial distribution; influencing factors