Olaniyi Olayinka|Nadine Mbuyi
Epidemiology of Dementia among the Elderly in Sub-Saharan Africa
Saint Louis University|Roger Williams Medical Center|Providence College|Boston University
objectives review epidemiologic studies prevalence incidence risk factors dementia subsaharan africa ssa methods medline search january 1992 december 31 2013 epidemiologic studies language restriction conducted using keywords dementia alzheimers africa selected review population hospitalbased studies reported prevalence incidence risk factors dementia ssa people aged 60 years references selected articles reviewed identify additional relevant articles met selection criteria results total 522 articles 41 selected reviewed reported prevalence dementia ssa varied widely range 2292160 alzheimers disease prevalent type dementia two studies conducted nigeria reported incidence data major risk factors identified include older age female gender cardiovascular disease illiteracy conclusion data epidemiology dementia ssa limited earlier studies reported lower prevalence dementia older persons recent studies put findings question suggesting dementia prevalence rates ssa fact parallel data western countries