A diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) can often be of great worry to an older adult, who may see it as a stepping stone to dementia – but a new study suggests one does not necessarily lead to the other.
In fact, nearly half of seniors tracked in a new study – all of whom had been diagnosed with issues in memory and thinking and received an MCI diagnosis – no longer had the condition a few years later.
The study was conducted to help better understand what factors might be important to a person’s risk for dementia.
“We wanted to gain more knowledge about the earliest stages of dementia, as a potential time window for dementia prevention or intervention strategies,” said study lead author Jennifer Manly, a professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University in New York City.
The predictors of MCI are not necessarily the same factors that predict progression of MCI to dementia, said Professor Manly, adding that MCI status should be viewed as a “higher risk classification,” and not as an early stage of dementia.
For the study, the researchers followed just over 2,900 study participants, with an average age of mid-70s, for about six years.
During the research period, 752 participants were diagnosed with MCI.
Those diagnoses happened when the participants reported problems with memory or thinking and a test showed cognitive impairment.
They were still able to maintain daily activities and had problems with fewer than three activities, such as shopping or handling medications, according to the study.
Of those with MCI, 480 did follow-up assessments.
Two years later, 13 per cent of those with MCI had dementia. Another 30 per cent still had MCI, but had not developed dementia.
About ten per cent had declines in mental functioning, but still did not meet the criteria for MCI or dementia.
But nearly half – 48 per cent – of those who had previously been diagnosed with MCI were “cognitively normal” on a follow-up visit an average of 2.4 years later. They may have met one or two of the three criteria for MCI initially.
Among the modifiable risks that predicted a lower risk of developing MCI, researchers found that having more years of education and taking part in more leisure activities like reading, visiting a friend or going for a walk could make a difference. So, too, could a higher income.
Specifically, those who had more education or participated in more leisure activities were five per cent less likely to develop MCI.
Predictors that increased the risk of someone with MCI developing dementia included the use of antidepressants, having symptoms of depression, having the particular gene that increases Alzheimer’s risk and having MCI that affects several aspects of thinking skills, including memory, language and spatial skills.
Professor Manly noted that the results did not mean that these risk factors cause dementia, but that they showed an association.
These findings could help define future public health initiatives, she said, especially when risk factors can be modified.
