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Cognitive Impairment Common in Seniors: Increases
with Age, Lack of Education
April 5, 2006 - Mayo Clinic researchers have found
that mild cognitive impairment, a disorder considered a strong early
predictor of Alzheimer’s disease, is prevalent among senior citizens and
increases with age and fewer years of education.
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Findings from this study, funded by the National
Institute on Aging, were presented yesterday at the American Academy of
Neurology meeting in San Diego.
The researchers randomly selected 3,957 people from
the general population of Olmsted County, Minn., home of Mayo Clinic,
for participation in this study. The researchers set out to find how
many of those who did not have dementia might have mild cognitive
impairment. To date, 1,116 people without dementia in the study have
been evaluated.
The findings suggest that 12 percent of 70- to
89-year-olds in Olmsted County, Minn., have mild cognitive impairment.
The prevalence of mild cognitive impairment
increased with age, affecting 9 percent of those 70 to 79 and nearly 18
percent of those 80 to 89.
The prevalence of mild cognitive impairment also
varied according to years of education, ranging from –
● 25 percent in those with up to eight years of
education,
● 14 percent in those with nine to 12 years,
● 9 percent in those with 13 to 16 years, and
● 8.5 percent in those with greater than 16 years.
The researchers suggest that the increase of mild
cognitive impairment with age found in this study parallels the risk
elevation with age seen in previous studies of Alzheimer’s disease.
“This means that 12 percent to 20 percent of the
entire population of those over age 70 may have either mild cognitive
impairment or dementia, which is quite significant,” says Ronald
Petersen, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic neurologist and study investigator.
“These data have major implications for the future of the health care
system and the aging of America.”
Dr. Petersen adds that the increased risk for mild
cognitive impairment with fewer years of education found in this study
parallels other studies’ findings of a similar rise in risk for
Alzheimer’s disease as years of education decrease.
“People with more years of education also may
experience a loss of cognitive ability, but they can compensate better
and thus they don’t demonstrate the symptoms of mild cognitive
impairment,” says Rosebud Roberts, M.B.Ch.B., Mayo Clinic epidemiologist
and lead study investigator. “It’s as though their education protects
them from exhibiting the effects of mild cognitive impairment.”
Dr. Petersen explains that mild cognitive
impairment is “the transitional stage between normal aging and
dementia.” This condition may encompass deficiencies in any or all of
the following categories:
● Language --words don’t come as quickly as
they once did
● Visuospatial ability --placement of things in
time and space becomes more difficult, such as having trouble getting
the proportions right when drawing a box
● Executive function --decision making becomes
more challenging
● Memory --recent recall diminishes, such as
what one did yesterday
Patients with mild cognitive impairment otherwise
function normally in society, indicates
Dr. Roberts. In fact, she explains, the symptoms of mild cognitive
impairment can be so subtle that they are difficult to detect unless
living with the affected person.
The current research findings are preliminary; an
additional 800 to 900 people will be evaluated before the study’s
completion. Mayo Clinic’s long-term hope with this research, according
to Dr. Roberts, is to identify factors that protect against mild
cognitive impairment and help develop treatments for those affected,
thus minimizing the likelihood of progression to Alzheimer’s disease.
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