Men most affected by mild cognitive impairment
By Liz Lockhart
It would seem that men and those who have only a secondary school education are most at risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 
according to new research. The risk for women and those who have completed some higher education is lower, although more than 6% of Americans aged between 70 and 89 will develop MCI each year.
Mild cognitive impairment is considered to be the stage between suffering ‘normal’ forgetfulness which is associated with aging and the development of dementia. Symptoms of MCI include:
- Difficulty when solving problems and making decisions
- Difficulty learning and remembering new information
- Forgetting recent events or conversations
- Taking longer to perform difficult mental activities
Individuals who have MCI generally experience only mild problems with memory and thinking. This does not interfere with everyday life but their forgetfulness is often apparent to them and their family and friends. The number of people who have MCI who then go on to develop dementia is estimated to be between 5-10%.
There were 1,450 study participants of which 296 developed MCI. This represents 6.4% per year overall, however, among men the incidence rate was 7.2% and among women it was 5.7% per year.
‘While incidence rates for MCI have been reported previously, ours is one of the few studies designed specifically to measure the incidence of MCI and its subtypes using published criteria,’ said Rosebud O. Roberts, M.B., the lead author.
‘The statistically significant difference between incidence rates among men and women represents an important finding for those evaluating patients for MCI,’ she added.
Roberts is Ch.B of the Mayo Clinic Division of Epidemiology. The study is published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
In this study patients with MCI were divided according to whether they developed amnestic MCI (aMCI) or non-amnestic MCI (naMCI). Amnestic MCI is a condition which affects the memory.
The incidence rates for aMCI and naMCI were similar to the overall results, with men having a higher incidence than women. The study also found that people with only a secondary education developed either Amci or naMCI at a higher rate than those individuals who had had some higher education.
Dr. Roberts says ‘Understanding the distribution of incident MCI by age, sex and other demographic variables is critical to helping us understand the cause of the condition, as well as how to prevent MCI and its progression to full-blown, irreversible dementia.’
‘This study advances our understanding of MCI and will help clinicians provide even better care for their patients, especially during initial evaluations,’ she concluded.
