Caractéristiques sociodémographiques, cliniques et thérapeutiques de la démence au Burkina Faso

The objective of this work was to investigate the demographic, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of dementia among patients admitted at consultation in the department of psychiatry of the Yalgado Ouedraogo university hospital centre in Ouagadougou (CHU-YO). We conducted a retrospective study from records of patients in the period from January 01, 2003 to December 31, 2012. Data were collected using a plug of collection from the records of consultation and background clinical observations. Seven thousand nine hundred seventy-four (7974) records have been collected; eighty-seven (87) cases of dementia were found i.e., a prevalence of 1.9%. The age of patients ranged from 49 to 90 years. The most represented age groups were those aged 61 to 70. The highest prevalence of dementia was observed among the housewives and retirees (18.39%). Men prevailed over women (59.77% versus 40.23%) and the majority of them lived in urban areas (60.92%). Dementia symptoms (deterioration of memory, massive cognitive disorders objectified by the MMSE, behavioral disorders, insomnia) were at the forefront motivating consultations for our patients. Depressive symptoms and signs of psychosis associated or not with the insane syndrome were found. Failing better, and taking into account the nature of the request, neuroleptics and conventional antidepressants were most prescribed drugs in 67.81% and 18.39% of patients respectively. Conducted in a psychiatric unit of a country in full social mutation, the aim of this work is to discuss the likely causes of the low prevalence of dementia in the department of psychiatry of the Yalgado Ouedraogo hospital.