RESUMO
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Dementia is a growing public health problem. It involves the impairment of several cognitive functions, generating mental and physical disability, and therefore greater functional dependence. There is limited epidemiological information which reveals an approximate prevalence in older adults from Latin America. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of dementia in the older adult population of Latin America, and its distribution according to geographic area and gender. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic review was carried out in databases: PubMed, Ovid, Lilacs, Cochrane, Scielo and Google Scholar, in order to identify studies that estimate the prevalence of dementia in urban and / or rural population over 65 years of age. RESULTS: On February 2018, the literature search yielded 357 publications. The overall prevalence of dementia in the older adult population of Latin America was found to be 11%, prevailing more in female gender and urban people. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of dementia in Latin America is higher than registered previously, and even than in other continents.