Prevalence of dementia in elderly living in two cities of Central Africa: the EDAC survey.
BACKGROUND
Data on dementia from low- and middle-income countries are still necessary to quantify the burden of this condition. This multicenter cross-sectional study aimed at estimating the prevalence of dementia in 2 large cities of Central Africa.


METHODS
General population door-to-door surveys were conducted in the districts of Bangui (Republic of Central Africa) and Brazzaville (Congo) in elderly aged ≥ 65 years. The subjects were screened with the Community Screening Interview for Dementia and the Five-Words Test. Diagnosis of dementia was made according to the DSM-IV criteria and to the clinical criteria proposed by the NINCDS-ADRDA for Alzheimer's disease.


RESULTS
We enrolled 496 subjects in Bangui and 520 in Brazzaville. The prevalence of dementia was estimated at 8.1% (95% CI = 5.8-10.8) in Bangui and 6.7% (95% CI = 4.7-9.2) in Brazzaville.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of dementia in urban areas of Central Africa is close to those observed in high-income countries.
Guerchet
Maëlenn
M
IFR 145 GEIST, Institut d'Epidémiologie Neurologique et de Neurologie Tropicale, EA 3174 NeuroEpidémiologie Tropicale et Comparée, Université de Limoges, Limoges, France.
M'belesso
Pascal
P
Mouanga
Alain M
AM
Bandzouzi
Bébène
B
Tabo
André
A
Houinato
Dismand S
DS
Paraïso
Moussiliou N
MN
Cowppli-Bony
Pascale
P
Nubukpo
Philippe
P
Aboyans
Victor
V
Clément
Jean-Pierre
JP
Dartigues
Jean-François
JF
Preux
Pierre-Marie
PM
D000350:Africa, Central / Q000453:epidemiology; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D002488:Central African Republic / Q000453:epidemiology; D003223:Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population