Cognition in older adults in Uganda: Correlates, trends over time and association with mortality in prospective population study.

Dementia is an important and growing issue in sub-Saharan Africa, but epidemiological data are lacking. Risk factors may differ from other regions due to high stroke incidence and HIV prevalence. Understanding the epidemiology of cognition in older adults in Africa is crucial for informing public health strategies to improve the lives of people with dementia and their carers.

Self-reported disability in rural Malawi: prevalence, incidence, and relationship to chronic conditions.

Disability is a complex concept involving physical impairment, activity limitation, and participation restriction. The Washington Group developed a set of questions on six functional domains (seeing, hearing, walking, remembering, self-care, and communicating) to allow collection of comparable data on disability. We aimed to improve understanding of prevalence and correlates of disability in this low-income setting in Malawi.

Disability among Older People: Analysis of Data from Disability Surveys in Six Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

This analysis of surveys from six low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) aimed to (i) estimate the prevalence of disability among older adults and (ii) compare experiences and participation in key life areas among older people with and without disabilities which may show vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analysed from district-level or national surveys in Cameroon, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Nepal and the Maldives, which across the six databases totalled 3499 participants aged 60 years and above including 691 people with disabilities. Disability was common among adults 60+, ranging from 9.

Prevalence and risk factors for chronic kidney disease of unknown cause in Malawi: a cross-sectional analysis in a rural and urban population.

Background: An epidemic of chronic kidney disease of unknown cause (CKDu) is occurring in rural communities in tropical regions of low-and middle-income countries in South America and India. Little information is available from Southern African countries which have similar climatic and occupational characteristics to CKDu-endemic countries. We investigated whether CKDu is prevalent in Malawi and identified its potential risk factors in this setting.

Self-reported disability in relation to mortality in rural Malawi: a longitudinal study of over 16 000 adults.

Objectives: We investigated whether self-reported disability was associated with mortality in adults in rural Malawi.

Setting: Karonga Health and Demographic Surveillance Site (HDSS), Northern Malawi.

Participants: All adults aged 18 and over residing in the HDSS were eligible to participate.

Pharmacotherapy for hypertension in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: The highest burden of hypertension is found in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with a threefold greater mortality from stroke and other associated diseases. Ethnicity is known to influence the response to antihypertensives, especially in black populations living in North America and Europe. We sought to outline the impact of all commonly used pharmacological agents on both blood pressure reduction and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in SSA.

How to estimate glomerular filtration rate in sub-Saharan Africa: design and methods of the African Research into Kidney Diseases (ARK) study.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a substantial cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide with disproportionate effects in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The optimal methods to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and therefore to determine the presence of CKD in SSA are uncertain. We plan to measure iohexol excretion to accurately determine GFR in Malawi, South Africa and Uganda.

Prevalence of impaired renal function among rural and urban populations: findings of a cross-sectional study in Malawi.

: Sub-Saharan Africa faces region-specific risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD), such as nephrotoxic herbal medicines, antiretroviral therapy and infections, in addition to hypertension and diabetes. However, large epidemiological studies from this area are scarce. : In a cross-sectional survey of non-communicable diseases, we conducted a prevalence sub-study of CKD in two Malawian populations.

Perspectives on Disability and Non-Communicable Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, with a Focus on Stroke and Dementia.

Non-communicable diseases (NCD) and disability are both common, and increasing in magnitude, as a result of population ageing and a shift in disease burden towards chronic conditions. Moreover, disability and NCDs are strongly linked in a two-way association. People living with NCDs may develop impairments, which can cause activity limitations and participation restriction in the absence of supportive personal and environmental factors.

Dietary sodium intake in urban and rural Malawi, and directions for future interventions.

Background: High dietary sodium intake is a major risk factor for hypertension. Data on population sodium intake are scanty in sub-Saharan Africa, despite a high hypertension prevalence in most countries.

Objective: We aimed to determine daily sodium intake in urban and rural communities in Malawi.

Diagnosing neurosyphilis: a case of confusion.

A Pakistani man aged 60 years presented with personality change, aggression, paranoid delusions and sexual disinhibition while being treated for severe chest sepsis in intensive care. Collateral history confirmed that these personality changes had been developing over the course of the previous 2 years. He was found to have positive syphilis serology during a routine confusion screen, and the possibility of neurosyphilis was raised.