Prevalence of neurological disorders in Udo, a rural community in southern Nigeria.

The residents of Udo, a rural community of Edo-speaking people (population 2,925) in Bendel State, Nigeria were screened in a door-to-door survey for neurological disorders by specially instructed primary health care workers (PHW). A standard protocol was followed by PHW in collecting census data, administering a screening questionnaire, and performing a simple neurological examination. A neurologist confirmed the presence of neurological disorders in 235 (47%) of 504 screen-positive subjects after further clinical evaluation. The point prevalence ratios, per 1,000 population, for the most common neurological disorders identified in Udo were: migraine 63.2, febrile convulsions in children under 7 years of age 10.7, epilepsy 6.2, peripheral neuropathy 2.1 and myelopathy 1.7.