PROFILE OF DEMENTIA IN A NIGERIAN COMMUNITY-TYPES, PATTERN OF IMPAIRMENT, AND SEVERITY RATING

Out of 2494 subjects screened in a Nigerian community 28 patients with dementia were identified. Alzheimer's disease was diagnosed in 18 pat ients (64.3%), 16 of wham had probable Alzheimer's disease. Eight pati ents (28.6%) had vascular dementia while one patient each had parkinso nism with dementia and depression with dementia. Patients with Alzheim er's disease were significantly older, predominantly females and illit erates. Cognitive deficit commonly took the form of memory and judgmen t impairment while financial mismanagement was the most frequent impai red activity of daily living. More than half of the cases had mild dis ease on severity rating and were comprised mainly of Alzheimer's disea se subjects. These results confirm the higher frequency of Alzheimer's disease over the other types as reported in other communities.