A systematic review and meta-analysis of dementia prevalence in seven developing countries: A STRiDE project

ABSTRACT

The STRiDE project sets out to support the development of effective dementia policy in middle-income countries (Brazil, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, and South Africa). As part of this it will generate new data about the prevalence of dementia for a subset of these countries. This study aims to identify the current estimates of dementia prevalence in these countries and where the gaps lie in the current literature. A systematic review was completed on 30th April 2019 across electronic databases, identifying dementia prevalence literature originating from any of the seven countries. Four hundred and twenty-nine records were identified following de-duplication; 28 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. Pooled estimates of dementia prevalence ranged from 2% to 9% based on DSM-IV criteria; these figures were generally higher in studies using other diagnostic criteria (e.g. the 10/66 algorithm). Available prevalence data varied between countries. Only Brazil, Mexico and India had data derived from studies judged as having a low risk of bias. Irrespective of country, studies often were not explicit in detailing the representativeness of their sample, or whether there was non-response bias. Further transparent and externally valid dementia prevalence research is needed across the STRiDE countries.

KEYWORDS:

• Middle-income
• diagnostic criteria
• older adults

Acknowledgements

Thank you to all the members of the STRiDE teams who helped identify literature relating to this topic.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Coloureds is an official term to refer to a distinct ethnic group in South Africa.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the UK Research and Innovation's Global Challenges Research Fund (ES/P010938/1). The funders had no direct input into the formulation or creation of the protocol, or the results and their interpretation.