Open AccessThe Vulnerability Index: A weighted measure of dementia and cognitive impairment risk
Author(s) -
Kleiman Michael J.,
Galvin James E.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia: diagnosis, assessment and disease monitoring
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.497
H-Index - 37
ISSN - 2352-8729
DOI - 10.1002/dad2.12249
Subject(s) - dementia , cognition , vulnerability (computing) , cognitive impairment , confidence interval , clinical psychology , psychology , gerontology , cognitive vulnerability , risk factor , medicine , psychiatry , disease , computer security , computer science , depressive symptoms
A brief, easily calculated and interpretable index to assess vulnerability to developing cognitive impairment is needed in clinical practice and research. To address this, we developed the Vulnerability Index (VI) with the goal of identifying individuals possessing a high risk for cognitive impairment. Methods Twelve easily obtained sociodemographic, medical, and functional factors were used to develop the VI, with each selectively weighted based on factor analysis and predictive modeling. This cross‐sectional study examined 387 subject‐partner dyads. Results The VI was found to accurately discriminate between cognitively normal controls and participants with cognitive impairment (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.844; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.776‐0.913) and individuals scoring high on the VI (≥8) had worse health, functional, behavioral, cognitive, and quality of life ratings than those with lower scores. Discussion The VI could be used in screening asymptomatic individuals for risk of cognitive impairment and guiding the development of primary and secondary prevention plans.