Factors Associated with the Prevalence of Cognitive Impairment in a Rural Elderly Cameroonian Population: A Community-Based Study in Sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: With rising elderly populations, age-related health problems such as cognitive impairment and dementia are major public health concerns. We sought to assess the prevalence of cognitive impairment and associated factors in rural elderly Cameroonians.

METHODS

The Mini Mental State Examination was used to assess the cognitive function of participants randomly recruited during a house-to-house survey of the Batibo Health District.

RESULTS

The prevalence of cognitive impairment in our study was 33.3%. Increasing age, female gender, being single, a lack of formal education, and higher systolic blood pressure values were significantly and independently associated with cognitive impairment.

CONCLUSION

The identification of modifiable factors would inform evidence-based policy to decrease the health and social burdens of cognitive impairment and dementia in the elderly in rural Cameroon.