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Dominant and Modifiable Risk Factors for Dementia in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

ABSTRACT: Background: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is projected to have a rapid increase in the number of people living with dementia by 2050. Yet, there is currently no robust evidence on the risk factors for dementia in the sub-region that could inform context specific interventions. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies to determine the dominant and modifiable risk factors for dementia in SSA. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, and African Journals Online using keywords for dementia and Alzheimer's disease as well as the.mp operator for all 47 SSA countries or regions. We included peer-reviewed original studies with epidemiological designs, conducted random effect meta-analysis and determined the dominant and modifiable risk factors for dementia using the inverse of variance method. Results: A total of 44 studies out of 2,848 met criteria for syntheses. The pooled annual incidence of dementia from 5,200 cohort risk years was 2.0% [(95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.0-4.0%)]. The pooled prevalence was 5.0% (95% CI = 2.0-7.0%). Older age was the dominant risk factor for both prevalent [(Standard error (S.E = 0.3, weight = 25.2%)] and incident dementia (S.E = 0.02, weight = 95.8%), while low educational attainment (S.E = 0.19, weight = 32.6%) and poor predementia cognitive functioning at baseline (S.E = 0.2, weight = 20.5%) were the best ranked modifiable risk factor for incident dementia. Conclusion: Low formal educational attainment which, in SSA, may represent a stable index of low socioeconomic position and health disadvantage over the life course, was the most prominent modifiable risk factor for incident dementia. Findings have implications for deliberate policies targeted at access to education across the life course as a primary prevention strategy against dementia in SSA.

SUBMITTER: Ojagbemi A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8027065 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:In sub-Saharan Africa, cervical cancer is an intersecting epidemic with HIV and it is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Therefore, this study was aimed to estimate the current status of the prevalence and associated factors of precancerous cervical lesions among HIV-positive women in sub-Saharan Africa. A systematic literature search was conducted from legitimate electronic databases, including MEDLINE (Ovid), PubMed, EMBASE (Ovid), Emcare (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Web of Science, Scopus, and PopLine and other gray literature including Google, Google Scholar, World Cat, ResearchGate, and Mednar. Data were extracted with a structured format prepared in Microsoft Excel. Each study was evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool for cross-sectional and cohort studies checklists. Accordingly, medium and high-quality studies were included in the review. Data synthesis and statistical analysis was conducted using OpenMeta and comprehensive meta-analysis version 2 software. The study protocol is registered on PROSPERO with ID: CRD42018114266. The pooled prevalence of precancerous cervical lesion among HIV-positive women in sub-Saharan Africa was 25.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 19.4%-31.8%). Having more than 2 lifetime sexual partners (odds ratio [OR]: 4.77; 95% CI: 1.35-16.93), having had a history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs; OR: 1.92; 95% CI: 1.03-3.57), having more than 2 births (OR: 1.84; 95% CI: 1.33-2.53), and CD4 count <200 cells/mm3 (OR: 1.765; 95% CI: 1.23-2.535) were significantly associated with precancerous cervical lesions. The prevalence of precancerous cervical lesion among HIV-positive women was high. One in 4 HIV-infected women suffers from precancerous cervical lesion. Lower CD4 cell count, STIs, multiple sexual partnering, and histories of multiple births and abortions were the foremost contributing factors for this burden. Precancerous cervical lesion could be reduced significantly if preventive and promotive measures are done on the associated factors.

Project description:ObjectiveTo systematically review the literature relating to the impact of multiple co-occurring modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia.DesignA systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature relating to the impact of co-occurring key risk factors for incident cognitive decline and dementia. All abstracts and full text were screened independently by two reviewers and each article assessed for bias using a standard checklist. A fixed effects meta-analysis was undertaken.Data sourcesDatabases Medline, Embase and PsycINFO were searched from 1999 to 2017.Eligibility criteriaFor inclusion articles were required to report longitudinal data from participants free of cognitive decline at baseline, with formal assessment of cognitive function or dementia during follow-up, and an aim to examine the impact of additive or clustered comorbid risk factor burden in with two or more core modifiable risk factors.ResultsSeventy-nine full-text articles were examined. Twenty-two articles (18 studies) were included reporting data on >40 000 participants. Included studies consistently reported an increased risk associated with greater numbers of intraindividual risk factors or unhealthy behaviours and the opposite for healthy or protective behaviours. A meta-analysis of studies with dementia outcomes resulted in a pooled relative risk for dementia of 1.20 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.39) for one risk factor, 1.65 (95% CI 1.40 to 1.94) for two and 2.21 (95% CI 1.78 to 2.73) for three or more, relative to no risk factors. Limitations include dependence on published results and variations in study outcome, cognitive assessment, length of follow-up and definition of risk factor exposure.ConclusionsThe strength of the reported associations, the consistency across studies and the suggestion of a dose response supports a need to keep modifiable risk factor exposure to a minimum and to avoid exposure to additional modifiable risks. Further research is needed to establish whether particular combinations of risk factors confer greater risk than others.Prospero registration number42016052914.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:To identify the determinants of antenatal care (ANC) utilisation in sub-Saharan Africa. DESIGN:Systematic review. DATA SOURCES:Databases searched were PubMed, OVID, EMBASE, CINAHL and Web of Science. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:Primary studies reporting on determinants of ANC utilisation following multivariate analysis, conducted in sub-Saharan Africa and published in English language between 2008 and 2018. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS:A data extraction form was used to extract the following information: name of first author, year of publication, study location, study design, study subjects, sample size and determinants. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist for reporting a systematic review or meta-analysis protocol was used to guide the screening and eligibility of the studies. The Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies was used to assess the quality of the studies while the Andersen framework was used to report findings. RESULTS:74 studies that met the inclusion criteria were fully assessed. Most studies identified socioeconomic status, urban residence, older/increasing age, low parity, being educated and having an educated partner, being employed, being married and Christian religion as predictors of ANC attendance and timeliness. Awareness of danger signs, timing and adequate number of antenatal visits, exposure to mass media and good attitude towards ANC utilisation made attendance and initiation of ANC in first trimester more likely. Having an unplanned pregnancy, previous pregnancy complications, poor autonomy, lack of husband's support, increased distance to health facility, not having health insurance and high cost of services negatively impacted the overall uptake, timing and frequency of antenatal visits. CONCLUSION:A variety of predisposing, enabling and need factors affect ANC utilisation in sub-Saharan Africa. Intersectoral collaboration to promote female education and empowerment, improve geographical access and strengthened implementation of ANC policies with active community participation are recommended.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Otitis media is inflammation of the middle ear, comprising a spectrum of diseases. It is the commonest episode of infection in children, which often occurs after an acute upper respiratory tract infection. Otitis media is ranked as the second most important cause of hearing loss and the fifth global burden of disease with a higher incidence in developing worlds like Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Therefore, this systematic review is aimed to quantitatively estimate the current status of bacterial otitis media, bacterial etiology and their susceptibility profile in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS:A literature search was conducted from major databases and indexing services including EMBASE (Ovid interface), PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, WHO African Index-Medicus and others. All studies (published and unpublished) addressing the prevalence of otitis media and clinical isolates conducted in sub-Saharan Africa were included. Format prepared in Microsoft Excel was used to extract the data and data was exported to Stata version 15 software for the analyses. Der-Simonian-Laird random-effects model at a 95% confidence level was used for pooled estimation of outcomes. The degree of heterogeneity was presented with I2 statistics. Publication bias was presented with funnel plots of standard error supplemented by Begg's and Egger's tests. The study protocol is registered on PROSPERO with reference number ID: CRD42018102485 and the published methodology is available from http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/CRD42018102485. RESULTS:A total of 33 studies with 6034 patients were included in this study. All studies have collected ear swab/discharge samples for bacterial isolation. The pooled isolation rate of bacterial agents from the CSOM subgroup was 98%, patients with otitis media subgroup 87% and pediatric otitis media 86%. A univariate meta-regression analysis indicated the type of otitis media was a possible source of heterogeneity (p-value = 0.001). The commonest isolates were P. aeruginosa (23-25%), S. aureus (18-27%), Proteus species (11-19%) and Klebsiella species. High level of resistance was observed against Ampicillin, Amoxicillin-clavulanate, Cotrimoxazole, Amoxicillin, and Cefuroxime. CONCLUSION:The analysis revealed that bacterial pathogens like P. aeruginosa and S. aureus are majorly responsible for otitis media in sub-Saharan Africa. The isolates have a high level of resistance to commonly used drugs for the management of otitis media.

Project description:BackgroundCognitive impairment, including dementia, is a major health concern with the increasing aging population. Preventive measures to delay cognitive decline are of utmost importance. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most frequent cause of dementia, increasing in prevalence from <1% below the age of 60 years to >40% above 85 years of age.MethodsWe systematically reviewed selected modifiable factors such as education, smoking, alcohol, physical activity, caffeine, antioxidants, homocysteine (Hcy), n-3 fatty acids that were studied in relation to various cognitive health outcomes, including incident AD. We searched MEDLINE for published literature (January 1990 through October 2012), including cross-sectional and cohort studies (sample sizes > 300). Analyses compared study finding consistency across factors, study designs and study-level characteristics. Selecting studies of incident AD, our meta-analysis estimated pooled risk ratios (RR), population attributable risk percent (PAR%) and assessed publication bias.ResultsIn total, 247 studies were retrieved for systematic review. Consistency analysis for each risk factor suggested positive findings ranging from ~38.9% for caffeine to ~89% for physical activity. Education also had a significantly higher propensity for "a positive finding" compared to caffeine, smoking and antioxidant-related studies. Meta-analysis of 31 studies with incident AD yielded pooled RR for low education (RR = 1.99; 95% CI: 1.30-3.04), high Hcy (RR = 1.93; 95% CI: 1.50-2.49), and current/ever smoking status (RR = 1.37; 95% CI: 1.23-1.52) while indicating protective effects of higher physical activity and n-3 fatty acids. Estimated PAR% were particularly high for physical activity (PAR% = 31.9; 95% CI: 22.7-41.2) and smoking (PAR% = 31.09%; 95% CI: 17.9-44.3). Overall, no significant publication bias was found.ConclusionsHigher Hcy levels, lower educational attainment, and decreased physical activity were particularly strong predictors of incident AD. Further studies are needed to support other potential modifiable protective factors, such as caffeine.

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Dominant and Modifiable Risk Factors for Dementia in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

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