Retrospective Analysis of Demographic Distribution of Dementia Cases from Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital in Calabar, Nigeria (2011–2021)

Abstract

Aims: The study aimed to investigate the demographic distribution of patients diagnosed with dementia from the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital (2011-2021), Calabar, Cross River State. Study design:  The retrospective research design was adopted for the study. This was done to review the records of patients who were diagnosed with dementia in Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Calabar, Cross River State. Place and Duration of Study: Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Calabar, Cross River State from 2011 to 2021. Methodology: A total of 195 medical records of patients diagnosed with dementia who had attended the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Calabar, Cross River State from January 2011 to December 2021 were retrieved and used for the study. The instrument for primary data collection was a validated checklist designed to retrieve data on: Section A: socio-demographic data of subjects and Section B: the prevalence of dementia in Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital. Stratified analyses by age, gender, state of origin and type of dementia were performed to assess dementia risk at the facility. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and SPSS version 26. The 95% confidence interval was considered significant. Results: A higher proportion of female dementia cases was observed, 110 (56.4%) compared to males, 85 (43.6%) at the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital from 2011-2021. The age range of patients with the   highest percentage of dementia was between 65 and 74 (44.6%) and the lowest was between 94 years and above (11.2%). The patients from Cross River State had the highest percentage, 103 (52.8%) while those from Anambra and Imo states had the lowest percentage (1.1%). Three types of dementia were observed at the facility - Alzheimer’s disease, 113 (57.9%), vascular dementia, 28 (14.4%) and mixed dementia, 54 (27.7%). This revealed that Alzheimer’s disease was predominant compared to the other sub-types of dementia. Conclusion: The study showed that females were more predisposed to dementia than males within the Cross River population of Nigeria.