Background: Dementia has important public health implications. The magnitude of the problem remains largely unknown in the developing countries.
Methods: Three hundred and twenty-two community dwelling elderly persons and their caregivers in Zaria, Northern-Nigeria were enrolled in this study. They were interviewed using Community Screening Interview for Dementia (CSI-D), Consortium to Establish Registry for Alzheimer's disease (CERAD), Stick Design Test (SDT), Blessed Dementia Scale and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The data obtained were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 15 for Windows. Diagnosis was based on fulfilling criteria for dementia in both the International Classification of Disease, 10th edition and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th edition.
Results: The mean age of the subjects was 75.5 ± 9.4 years. The prevalence of dementia was 2.79% (CI 1-4.58%). Alzheimer's disease constituted 66.67% of all the cases of dementia in this community. Age was the only demographic factor associated with dementia.
Conclusion: The prevalence rates of dementia and dementia subtypes in the developing countries are similar using standard diagnostic criteria and methods.