Universal Journal of Public Health 11(1): 116-125, 2023 http://www.hrpub.org
DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2023.110113
Computerized Tomographic Presentation of Geriatric
Brain with Motor Function Impairment and
Behavioural Changes in Nigerian Population
Usoro I.E
1
, Idigo F.U
2
, Ogunboyo O.F
3,*
, Agbana R.D
4
, Akhigbe R.O
1
1
Department of Radiography, Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
2
Department of Radiography and Radiological Sciences, Faculty of Health Science and Technology,
University of Nigeria, Enugu, Nigeria
3
Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health,
University of Medical Sciences, Ondo City, Ondo State, Nigeria
4
Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria
Received August 26, 2022; Revised December 6, 2022; Accepted December 22, 2022
Cite This Paper in the Following Citation Styles
(a): [1] Usoro I.E, Idigo F.U, Ogunboyo O.F, Agbana R.D, Akhigbe R.O , "Computerized Tomographic Presentation of
Geriatric Brain with Motor Function Impairment and Behavioural Changes in Nigerian Population," Universal Journal
of Public Health, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 116 - 125, 2023. DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2023.110113.
(b):Usoro I.E, Idigo F.U, Ogunboyo O.F, Agbana R.D, Akhigbe R.O (2023).Computerized Tomographic Presentation
of Geriatric Brain with Motor Function Impairment and Behavioural Changes in Nigerian Population. Universal
Journal of Public Health, 11(1), 116 - 125. DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2023.110113.
Copyright©2023 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License
Abstract Aging is characterized with its own
challenges. Geriatric patients have been identified with
behavioural changes and motor function impairment in
many studies across the globe and Nigeria is not an
exception. A prospective cross-sectional design was
adopted while a primary method of data collection was
used to elicit information from the geriatric patients, who
had presented for CT scan of the brain between January
2019 and December 2019. Descriptive and inferential
statistics were employed to analyze the data collected.
Findings indicate that the distribution for behavioural
changes as well as motor function impairments was 15.4%
and 84.6% respectively. The major behavioural changes
observed were outburst and mistrust (10.8%) and severe
memory lapses (4.8%). The major motor function
impairments observed were sudden collapse/loss of
consciousness (42.7%), paraplegia (26.1%), right-sided
body weakness (7.5%), difficulty in walking (4.0%),
slurred speech/aphasia (3.0%) and left-sided body
weakness (1.1%). There was significant association
between the gender of the geriatrics and the behavioural
changes and motor function impairments observed (x
2
=
17.312, df = 4, P = .002). Chronic cerebral atrophy was
suggested as the possible cause of behavioural changes
among the geriatrics while cerebral infarct and cerebral
haemorrhage were suggested as the possible causes of the
motor function impairments among the geriatrics. There is
substantial empirical evidence showing strong association
between CT presentation of geriatric brain and behavioural
changes and motor function impairments in geriatrics and
age-related factors. Thus, urgent care and attention should
be given to geriatric population in Nigeria to facilitate a
healthy life while they age.
Keywords Geriatric, Computerized Tomography,
Motor Function Impairment, Behavioural Changes,
Memory Lapses
1. Introduction
Background of Study
The population of people aged above 60 years is
growing in Nigeria. According to the United Nations, there
were 5 million Nigerians aged 60 and above in 2019, with