Premium
Neuropsychiatric symptoms as risk factors of dementia in a Mexican population: A 10/66 Dementia Research Group study
Author(s) -
Acosta Isaac,
Borges Guilherme,
AguirreHernandez Rebeca,
Sosa Ana Luisa,
Prince Martin
Publication year - 2018
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.2017.08.015
Subject(s) - dementia , medicine , psychiatry , gerontology , psychology , disease
Cognitive and/or memory impairment are the main clinical markers currently used to identify subjects at risk of developing dementia. This study aimed to explore the relationship between the presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms and dementia incidence. Methods We analyzed the association between neuropsychiatric symptoms and incident dementia in a cohort of 1355 Mexican older adults from the general population over 3 years of follow‐up, modeling cumulative incidence ratios using Poisson models. Results Five neuropsychiatric symptoms were associated with incident dementia: delusions, hallucinations, anxiety, aberrant motor behavior, and depression. The simultaneous presence of two symptoms had a relative risk, adjusted for mild cognitive impairment, diabetes, indicators of cognitive function, and sociodemographic factors, of 1.9 (95% confidence interval, 1.2–2.9), whereas the presence of three to five, similarly adjusted, had a relative risk of 3.0 (95% confidence interval, 1.9–4.8). Discussion Neuropsychiatric symptoms are common in predementia states and may independently contribute as risk factors for developing dementia.