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. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of dementia in urban areas of Central Africa is close to those observed in high-income countries.