Aim: To examine the prevalence and correlates of mild cognitive impairment in adults aged over 50 years attending primary care centers with complaints of cognitive failure.
Methods: A sample of 689 individuals aged ≥ 50 years with no previous diagnosis of dementia was assessed by use of the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Cambridge Cognitive Examination-Revised and the California Verbal Learning Test--to evaluate the mild cognitive impairment as dependent variables--and administration of a questionnaire on cognitive complaints and other instruments--to measure correlates.
Results: The prevalence of mild cognitive impairment was 31.40%, and positive associations were found for age, occupation, subjective memory complaints, reading habits and level of vocabulary. In the logistic regression, modeled mild cognitive impairment was associated with age (70 years or older), subjective cognitive complaints and level of vocabulary.
Conclusion: Almost one-third of the adults aged ≥ 50 years attending primary care centers with subjective cognitive complaints were affected by mild cognitive impairment. Early evaluation of cognitive functioning is essential to establish adequate preventive and intervention strategies.
Keywords: aging; cognitive reserve; dementia; early detection; mild cognitive impairment.
© 2013 Japan Geriatrics Society.