Background: With the aging of the population, dementia is increasing worldwide. The objective of this study was to identify risk factors for dementia in an elderly population utilizing a primary health care service in Dakar, Senegal. Methods: Through a cross-sectional study conducted from March 2004 to December 31, 2005, 507 elderly patients aged ≥65 years who came to the Social and Medical Center of IPRES, Dakar, Senegal, were first screened with the screening interview questionnaire ‘Aging in Senegal’. Those who were cognitively impaired underwent a clinical examination to detect dementia. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were done. Results: The whole population had a mean age of 72.4 years (±5.2) and was mostly male, married, and non-educated. Hypertension, arthritis, and gastrointestinal diseases were the main health conditions reported in the past medical history. Smoking was important while alcohol consumption was rare. Social network was high. Forty-five patients (8.87%) had dementia. In the multivariate model, only advanced age, education, epilepsy, and family history of dementia were independently associated with dementia. Conclusion: The risk factors identified are also found in developed countries confirming their role in dementia. It is important to take dementia into consideration in Senegal and to sensitize the community for prevention.

The objectives of this study were: to compare the prevalence of hypertension, overweight and obesity in rural (Ferlo) and urban (Dakar) Senegalese populations aged 50 and over. The survey was conducted on individuals aged 50 and older living in the rural area (N=478) and in the urban area (N=220). We have collected data about age, gender, marital status, education level, and knowledge, treatment of hypertension, height, weight and blood pressure. We have observed that overweight and obesity were more prevalent in the urban area (Dakar) than in the rural one (Ferlo). The risk of overweight or obesity decreased when age increased, and women had weight problems more often than men. The prevalence of arterial hypertension was lower in rural area (55.86%) than in Dakar (66.36%), but increased at an older age. However, the logistic regression showed that these increased proportion of hypertension in Dakar is linked to the more important proportion of overweight and obese people in this area. Moreover, rates of knowledge, treatment and control of hypertension are particularly low in the rural area of Senegal. In conclusion, age-associated diseases should be better managed in Senegal, particularly in rural areas.

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La démence est devenue un problème de santé publique. Dans le but d'une prévention, il est important de connaitre son épidémiologie au Sénégal. L'objectif de cette étude était d'identifier les facteurs de risque de démence dans une population de personnes âgées sénégalaises. Méthodes Une étude transversale a été réalisée du 01 Mars 2004 au 31 Décembre 2005 auprès d'une population de 872 personnes âgées de 55ans et plus utilisant le Centre Médicosocial et Universitaire de l'Institut de Prévoyance Retraite du Sénégal pour des soins. Par une étude en deux phases, des données sociodémographiques, sur le mode de vie, le réseau social, les antécédents ont été collectées à l'aide d'un questionnaire structuré complété par un examen clinique et une évaluation neuropsychologique. Le diagnostic de démence reposait sur des critères DSM IV-R.