Preliminary Results of Dementia Prevalence among Elderly People at Home by Cognitive Disorder Adapted Test of Niamey (Niger)

Abstract

Introduction: Neurocognitive disorders are frequent with aging and are often seen at advancing stages in our context. It is really difficult to evaluate rapidly Nigerien elderly persons according to tools available on cognitive status while there is a great number of uneducated elderly people who suffer from cognitive deficiency. The purpose was to determine neurocognitive disorders prevalence in uneducated groups and Muslim elderly people by using the cognitive disorder examination (Codex) test adopted in the population living at home in Niamey (Niger). Materials and Methods: These are the results of a preliminary prospective study with simple three (3) random sampling concerning elderly people aged 60 and over living at home in whom the codex test adapted to Niamey was administered in uneducated Muslim elderly people for a total duration of four (4) minutes. This screen-adapted test should be completed by the mini-mental test of Senegal which is adapted globally to uneducated people in hospitals. The basic Codex test was developed in France for educated people, so we used this basic test in our educated people in the same study. Results: A total of 198 patients had been collected, of which 51.5% were female with an average age of 68 years with extremes of 60 to 84 years. 40 were educated. Among educated persons, 62.5% had a very low probability of dementia and 5% had a very high probability of dementia in the first step of the Codex. In the second step, 12.5% had a low probability of dementia and 20% had a high probability in the same group, while 51.3% had a very low probability of dementia and 21.3% had a very high probability of dementia in the first step of CODEX in uneducated elderly. In the second step in the same group, 12.6% had a low probability and 14.5% had a high probability of dementia. Conclusion: The adapted codex test of Niamey is simple and could be rapidly used to screen dementia among uneducated elderly Muslim prayers, and then could confirm it by complementary cognitive status test validated in the same population. However, it should be confirmed by using a large sample.