Abstract

ANIETO, Amaefuna C. et al. Risk factors for mild cognitive impairment among older adults in a hospital in southern Nigeria. Afr. j. prim. health care fam. med. (Online) [online]. 2023, vol.15, n.1, pp.1-9. ISSN 2071-2936.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v15i1.3942.

BACKGROUND: About 63% of people living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Emerging evidence suggests that early risk factors for the development of MCI and dementia can be modified by public health and preventive intervention approaches. AIM: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of MCI in older adult patients and its relationship with some risk factors. SETTING: The study was conducted among older adults at the Geriatric Clinic of the Family Medicine Department of a hospital in southern Nigeria. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out involving 160 subjects aged 65 years and above over a period of 3 months. Socio-demographic and clinical data were obtained using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Subjects were accessed for impaired cognition using the 10-word delay recall test scale. Data were analysed using SPSS version 23. RESULTS: There were 64 males and 96 females; male to female ratio was 1:1.5. Majority of the study population were in age range of 65-74 years. The overall prevalence of MCI was 59.4%. Respondents with tertiary education were 82% less likely to have MCI on logistic regression analysis (OR = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.465-0.719. CONCLUSION: Mild cognitive impairment was prevalent among older adults in this study and was found to be significantly associated with low level of education. CONTRIBUTION: It is therefore recommended that screening for MCI and known risk factors should be prioritized at geriatric clinics.

Keywords : mild cognitive impairment; dementia; risk factors; prevalence; older adults; geriatric clinic.

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