The spectrum of pre‐dementia stages: cognitive profile of motoric cognitive risk syndrome and relationship with mild cognitive impairment

Background and purpose Motoric cognitive risk ( MCR ) syndrome is a pre‐dementia syndrome. There is little information on the cognitive profile of individuals with MCR syndrome and its overlap with mild cognitive impairment ( MCI ) syndrome. This study aimed to examine and compare the cognitive performance of non‐demented older community dwellers with and without MCR and MCI syndromes. Methods A total of 291 non‐demented individuals were selected from the Gait and Alzheimer Interactions Tracking study, which is a cross‐sectional study. All participants were referred to a memory clinic. Individuals with and without MCR were separated into those with and without MCI . Cognitive performance was measured using the scores of the Mini Mental Status Examination, Frontal Assessment Battery, Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test, Trail Making Test part A and B, and Stroop test. Results The prevalence of MCI was 40.1% and that of MCR was 18.2%, with a higher prevalence of MCI in MCR group compared with the non‐ MCR group (47.2% vs. 39.5%). Individuals with MCR and MCI syndromes had poorer cognitive performance in all domains compared with those without MCR ( P < 0.005), except for the ratio part III : part I of the Stroop test ( P = 0.345). The association between cognitive performance and MCR syndrome was worse on the Mini Mental Status Examination score [effect size, −0.57 (95% confidence interval, −1.02 to −0.12)] and Trail Making Test part B [effect size, 0.59 (95% confidence interval, 0.14–1.04)] in individuals with MCR and MCI syndromes. Conclusions Motoric cognitive risk syndrome is associated with low global cognitive performance. Association of MCR and MCI syndromes is characterized by a worse cognitive performance.