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P1‐206: Higher risk of dementia in elderly women with low cognitive performance by psychiatric examination independent of MMSE score
Author(s) -
Sacuiu Simona,
Gustafson Deborah,
Skoog Ingmar
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2008.05.795
Subject(s) - dementia , cognition , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , population , psychiatry , psychology , medicine , gerontology , clinical psychology , disease , environmental health
Background: MMSE score in relation with mild cognitive impairments in the community and the implications for prediction of dementia have been less studied. We investigated cross-sectionally MMSE score in women aged 70 and above in relation to different patterns of low cognitive performance based on psychiatric examination, followed by subsequent prediction of dementia over 8 years by MMSE score and patterns of cognitive performance. Methods: Participants in the Prospective Population Study of Women in Gothenburg, Sweden, born 1908, 1914, 1918 and 1922 were invited to a psychiatric examination in 1992 and 590 women participated (response rate 62.3%). Prevalent dementias were excluded and 564 non-demented women were followed until year 2000. Of the 564 women, 207 did not participate in the follow-up exam in 2000, but were traced via case records. Incident dementia was diagnosed according to DSM-III-R criteria at the follow-up examination or using case records among those not participating in 2000. Four patterns of cognitive performance: (1) unimpaired cognition, (2) isolated low memory, (3) low nonmemory and (4) global low cognitive performance, were distinguished at baseline based on assessments of memory, language, and visuospatial and executive functions from the psychiatric examination. Results: Non-demented women aged 70 and above had a mean MMSE score of 28.3 1.5 at baseline. Mean MMSE score was lower in women with low cognitive performance (based on a combined group including those with isolated low memory, low non-memory or global low performance) than in those with unimpaired cognition (28.1 1.5 versus 29.0 1.0, p 0.001). Mean MMSE score in those with global low performance was lower than in those with isolated low memory (27.7 1.6 versus 28.4 1.2, p 0.001) and those with low non-memory performance (27.7 1.6 versus 28.5 1.3, p 0.001). However, MMSE score was not an independent predictor of dementia in Cox proportional hazard models including isolated low memory, low non-memory and global low performance, age and education as potential confounders. Low non-memory and global low performance, but not isolated low memory, predicted dementia at follow-up. Conclusions: Low cognitive performance according to psychiatric examination, except isolated low memory, may predict development of dementia in elderly women with high baseline MMSE scores.