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Cognitive impairment in nondemented oldest‐old: Prevalence and relationship to cardiovascular risk factors
Author(s) -
Peltz Carrie B.,
Corrada María M.,
Berlau Daniel J.,
Kawas Claudia H.
Publication year - 2012
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.2011.02.008
Subject(s) - dementia , cognitive impairment , cognition , medicine , risk factor , cognitive decline , incidence (geometry) , gerontology , stroke (engine) , psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , disease , mechanical engineering , physics , engineering , optics
Objective To determine the prevalence and types of cognitive impairment in a sample of nondemented participants aged ≥90 (the oldest‐old) and to examine the relationships between cognitive impairment and cardiovascular risk factors. Participants The participants were 420 nondemented individuals from The 90+ Study, a study of aging and dementia in the oldest‐old. These participants were categorized into four nonoverlapping groups: normal cognition, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), nonamnestic MCI (naMCI), and other cognitive impairment (OCI). History of cardiovascular risk factors was assessed through self‐report. Results The overall prevalence of cognitive impairment in nondemented participants was 34.0% (95% CI: 29.5–38.5). The prevalence of OCI was highest (17.4%; 95% CI: 13.9–21.4), followed by aMCI (8.3%; 95% CI: 5.9–11.4) and naMCI (8.3%; 95% CI: 5.9–11.4). Normal cognition was present in 66.0% (95% CI: 61.2–70.5) of participants. History of hypertension and stroke were the only risk factors that varied between the groups, occurring more frequently in participants with naMCI (χ 2 = 3.82; P < .05) and OCI (χ 2 = 5.51; P < .05). Conclusions This study found a high prevalence of cognitive impairment in a sample of nondemented oldest‐old. We did not find a strong relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and the cognitive impairment groups, other than between hypertension and naMCI and stroke and OCI. Future studies comparing the incidence of dementia in these groups will ultimately determine their predictive utility in the oldest‐old.