Department of Psychiatry, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda.
Office of Research Administration, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda.
PLoS One. 2023 Oct 31;18(10):e0293258. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293258. eCollection 2023.
Worldwide, there is a growing concern about the rising number of people with declining cognitive functioning. However, findings on this phenomenon are inconclusive. Our study aimed to assess the prevalence of cognitive impairment and the associated factors in women with a history of pregnancy complications in rural southwestern Uganda.
This was a cross-sectional study carried out among women above 40 years of age in the greater Kabale district of southwestern Uganda between March and April 2022. Study participants were identified using a consecutive sampling method. Predictor variables included pregnancy complications and other social demographic factors that were assessed by semi-structured interviews while cognitive functioning as an outcome variable was assessed by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-B) tool. Data were analyzed using STATA at a 95% Confidence level. Logistic regression analyses were selected for statistical modelling while odds ratios were calculated to assess the strength of associations between the predictor and outcome variables.
In total, 75% (212/280) of participants had some form of cognitive impairment, with 45% (123/280) falling into mild CI, 31% (86/280) moderate CI and 4% (10/280) severe CI. Twenty-three percent (68/280) of participants fell into category of normal cognitive functioning. Participants with >65 years of age had higher odds of developing cognitive impairment (OR = 2.94; 95%CI: 0.96-9.04, p = 0.06) than those with < 65 years of age. Protective factors to cognitive impairment include delivering from a health facility (OR = 0.31,95% CI:0.16-0.60, p = < .001), primary and post primary levels of education (OR = 0.05; 95% CI: 0.02-0.13, p<0.001, OR = 0.04; 95%CI: 0.02-0.23, p<0.001) respectively.
Results from this study show a high prevalence of cognitive impairment among women with a history of pregnancy complications in rural southwestern Uganda. Interventions geared toward preventing cognitive impairment among females with a history of pregnancy complications should be emphasized.
在全球范围内，人们越来越关注认知功能下降人数的增加。然而，这一现象的研究结果尚无定论。我们的研究旨在评估乌干达西南部农村地区有妊娠并发症史的女性中认知障碍的患病率和相关因素。
这是一项横断面研究，于 2022 年 3 月至 4 月在乌干达西南部大卡巴莱区 40 岁以上的女性中进行。研究参与者采用连续抽样法确定。预测变量包括妊娠并发症和其他社会人口因素，通过半结构式访谈进行评估，而认知功能作为结果变量则通过蒙特利尔认知评估（MoCA-B）工具进行评估。数据分析采用 STATA 在 95%置信水平下进行。选择逻辑回归分析进行统计建模，同时计算优势比来评估预测变量和结果变量之间的关联强度。
共有 75%（212/280）的参与者存在某种形式的认知障碍，其中 45%（123/280）为轻度 CI，31%（86/280）为中度 CI，4%（10/280）为重度 CI。23%（68/280）的参与者处于正常认知功能类别。65 岁以上的参与者发生认知障碍的可能性更高（OR = 2.94；95%CI：0.96-9.04，p = 0.06）比 65 岁以下的参与者。认知障碍的保护因素包括在医疗机构分娩（OR = 0.31，95%CI：0.16-0.60，p <.001）、小学和中学后教育（OR = 0.05；95%CI：0.02-0.13，p <.001，OR = 0.04；95%CI：0.02-0.23，p <.001）。
本研究结果表明，乌干达西南部农村地区有妊娠并发症史的女性认知障碍患病率较高。应强调针对有妊娠并发症史的女性预防认知障碍的干预措施。
