Prevalence of Mental Disorders, Cognitive Impairment, and Dementia Among Older Adults in Egypt: Protocol for a Systematic Review

Dementia health matters: Influence of literacy, fears, and endorsements on dementia risk mitigation and screening among community-dwelling older adults

BACKGROUND

Up to one-third of dementia cases may be preventable, with evidence suggesting that modifying lifestyle and health behaviors can significantly lower the risk of developing dementia. However, motivating older adults to adopt and sustain these changes poses a considerable challenge, particularly when facing the specter of dementia.

AIM

To explore the interaction effect between dementia fear and dementia literacy on the perceived ability of community-dwelling older adults to reduce dementia risk and engage in dementia screening.

METHOD

A cross-sectional study involving 1,067 community-dwelling older adults was conducted from August 2022 to December 2023. Participants completed surveys assessing their dementia literacy, personal dementia fear, motivation to change lifestyle and health behaviors, and willingness to engage in investigational screening for memory in primary care.

FINDINGS

Personal dementia fear exhibited significant positive correlations with motivation to change lifestyle and health behavior (r = 0.621, p < 0.001) and investigational screening for memory in primary care (r = 0.559, p < 0.001), indicating that higher levels of fear are associated with increased motivation. Second, dementia literacy demonstrated positive correlations with motivation to change lifestyle and health behavior (r = 0.349, p < 0.001) and investigational screening (r = 0.269, p < 0.001), suggesting that more excellent knowledge enhances perceived ability. Lastly, both dementia literacy and personal dementia fear were positively correlated with motivation to change health behaviors, with respective effects of β = 0.266 and β = 0.595, highlighting their interactive role in shaping perceptions of risk reduction and screening.

IMPLICATION

The significant contributions of dementia literacy, personal dementia fear, and their interaction highlight the importance of these factors in accepting investigational screening for memory in primary care.

Knowledge, familiarity, and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on barriers to seeking mental health services among older people: a cross-sectional study

AIM

The COVID-19 pandemic caused drastic changes in older people's daily activities with a negative impact on their mental health, yet older people are less likely to seek mental health services. This study aims to explore the relationship between knowledge of and familiarity with mental health services, along with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and barriers to seeking mental health services among older people.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample of 352 older people, recruited among community-dwelling adults who attended randomly selected postal offices and pension outlets. Three tools were used: a structured interview schedule for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of older people, the revised version of the Knowledge and Familiarity of Mental Health Services Scale (KFFMHS-R), and the Barriers to Mental Health Services Scale Revised (BMHSS-R).

RESULTS

All participants reported experiencing mental health distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Intrinsic barriers had a higher mean score than extrinsic barriers, and 27.4% of the variance of overall barriers to seeking mental health could be explained through regression analysis by familiarity, knowledge of mental health services, and age. Overall barriers explained 24.4% of the variance of older people's perceived distress as an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (F = 22.160, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Knowledge of mental health services was the most significant predictor of barriers to seeking mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher barriers predicted higher distress as an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the study suggest the need for a multidisciplinary mental health team for older people.

A systematic review of the prevalence of mental and neurocognitive disorders amongst older adults’ populace in Egypt

Background

Mental and neurocognitive disorders are the leading cause of disabilities amongst the older adult populace worldwide. The population of the older adult in Egypt is fast growing. The national census in 2017 revealed a 2.56% increase in the older adult population from the 2006 census, and these figures are expected to double by year 2031. This study aims to review current evidence about the prevalence of mental and neurocognitive disorders amongst older adult population in Egypt.

Results

A systematic review was carried out, and 16 studies met the inclusion criteria outlined in this study. Four main mental and neurocognitive disorders were identified: depression, anxiety, cognitive impairment and dementia. The reported prevalence of depression, anxiety, dementia and cognitive impairment are 23.7–74.5%, 14.2–72%, 3.66–39.2% and 1.74–51.4%, respectively. Anxiety and depression were positively correlated with the female gender, increasing age and lower educational status. Also, cognitive impairment and dementia were positively correlated with age, illiteracy or low education. However, there appears to be inconsistencies in the diagnostic tools used.

Conclusion

Egypt aging population is growing, and this research brings to forefront the scale of mental and neurocognitive disorders amongst the older adult population. This may help ensure evidence-based initiatives are put in place and priority is given to resource allocation for geriatric mental and neurocognitive disorders in Egypt.

Systematic review registration

PROSPERO CRD42018114831