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Background <p>Egypt’s population aged 60 years and above is projected to increase from 9.2% (2021) to 20.8% (2050). Dementia affects approximately 3–4% of older adults in Egypt, with regional projections indicating a 367% increase in cases by 2050. This review synthesizes evidence on dementia epidemiology, risk factors, service provision, and health system challenges in Egypt to inform policy development and service planning.</p> Methods <p>We searched PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, WHO Institutional Repository, and Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, supplemented by Arabic-language journals, Egyptian government reports and other grey literature. Searches used English and Arabic terms combining Egypt with dementia, cognitive impairment, late-life mental disorders, services, and caregivers.</p> Results <p>Among adults aged ≥ 60 years, estimated dementia prevalence ranges from 1.96% to 5.07%, mild cognitive impairment from 32% to 37.7%, and late-life depression prevalence is approximately 64.6%. Public awareness of dementia remains low. Egypt’s mental health infrastructure comprises 18 hospitals and centres distributed across 13 of 27 governorates, with approximately 1,100 psychiatrists serving 105&#xa0;million people. Memory clinics and psychogeriatric services are concentrated in urban academic centres, with limited availability in rural and underserved governorates. Caregiver burden is substantial, with 50% experiencing mild-to-moderate and 30% moderate-to-severe burden; 43% report anxiety and 33% depression. Long-term care facilities serve fewer than 0.06% of older adults. Egypt currently lacks a national dementia strategy or dedicated funding mechanism, in contrast to regional neighbours including Qatar, Kuwait, and Iran.</p> Conclusions <p>Large gaps persist in services, workforce capacity, public awareness, and caregiver support despite rising dementia burden. Key priorities include establishing a costed national dementia strategy, implementing primary-care cognitive screening, expanding task-sharing models, scaling evidence-based psychosocial interventions, and developing community-based services embedded within non-communicable disease programmes and the Universal Health Insurance rollout.</p>

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Geriatric psychiatry and dementia services in Egypt: current evidence, challenges and future directions

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年11月17日

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  • Syed Ali Bokhari,
  • Mohamed Shawky Khater,
  • Tarik Qassem

摘要

Background

Egypt’s population aged 60 years and above is projected to increase from 9.2% (2021) to 20.8% (2050). Dementia affects approximately 3–4% of older adults in Egypt, with regional projections indicating a 367% increase in cases by 2050. This review synthesizes evidence on dementia epidemiology, risk factors, service provision, and health system challenges in Egypt to inform policy development and service planning.

Methods

We searched PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, WHO Institutional Repository, and Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, supplemented by Arabic-language journals, Egyptian government reports and other grey literature. Searches used English and Arabic terms combining Egypt with dementia, cognitive impairment, late-life mental disorders, services, and caregivers.

Results

Among adults aged ≥ 60 years, estimated dementia prevalence ranges from 1.96% to 5.07%, mild cognitive impairment from 32% to 37.7%, and late-life depression prevalence is approximately 64.6%. Public awareness of dementia remains low. Egypt’s mental health infrastructure comprises 18 hospitals and centres distributed across 13 of 27 governorates, with approximately 1,100 psychiatrists serving 105 million people. Memory clinics and psychogeriatric services are concentrated in urban academic centres, with limited availability in rural and underserved governorates. Caregiver burden is substantial, with 50% experiencing mild-to-moderate and 30% moderate-to-severe burden; 43% report anxiety and 33% depression. Long-term care facilities serve fewer than 0.06% of older adults. Egypt currently lacks a national dementia strategy or dedicated funding mechanism, in contrast to regional neighbours including Qatar, Kuwait, and Iran.

Conclusions

Large gaps persist in services, workforce capacity, public awareness, and caregiver support despite rising dementia burden. Key priorities include establishing a costed national dementia strategy, implementing primary-care cognitive screening, expanding task-sharing models, scaling evidence-based psychosocial interventions, and developing community-based services embedded within non-communicable disease programmes and the Universal Health Insurance rollout.