Prevalence of the major neurological disorders in a semi-urban community in northern Benin
Résumé
Background: Neurological disorders are some of the most disabling diseases. Epidemiological data on their incidence
in Benin are scarce.
Objective: The prevalence of major neurological diseases among people older than 15 years was investigated in
Titirou.
Methods: It was a cross-sectional study and door-to-door survey which took place from June 10 to August 30,
2014, in the district of Titirou and included 1094 persons. The diagnosis of migraine, tension-type headaches,
epilepsy, peripheral neuropathies, stroke, parkinsonism, Parkinson's disease and dementia were conducted using
a validated screening questionnaire, neurological examination and standard diagnostics criteria.
Results: They were aged from 16 to 85 with a mean age of 29.8 +/− 12.9 years. Forty five percent (492/1094)
were males. Among the 1094 respondents, 497 (45.4% 95%CI 42.5–48.4) had at least one neurological disorder.
The raw prevalences of the conditions were: tension-type headaches (26.9%), migraine (14.3%); peripheral
neuropathies (5.6%); epilepsy (1.9%); stroke (1.3%), parkinsonism (0.1%). No case of dementia or Parkinson's
disease was found. Socio-demographic factors associated with these conditions were as follows: tension-type
headaches: age (p=.020); peripheral neuropathies: age (p=0. 000); sex (p=.006); profession (p=.004);
marital status (p=.032); and level of education (p=.003); stroke: age (p=.000) and marital status (p=.000).
Conclusion: These results point to a high prevalence of neurological disorders in Titirou