Clinical Manifestations.

Abstract

Cognitive frailty (CF) has been defined as the simultaneous presence of physical frailty (PF) and subjective or objective cognitive impairment, with current definitions differentiating, respectively, between reversible and potentially reversible CF. The former is indicated by subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and the latter by Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Although CF is an emerging topic in the study of cognitive ageing, its relationship with cognitive reserve (CR) proxies have not been established. The prevalence of CF and the characterization of the sample in terms of its level of CR was studied in the second cohort of the Compostela Ageing Study (CompAS). 150 participants of the second follow-up of this cohort who completed the PF assessment were studied. The frailty phenotype was used to operationalize the level of PF of the participants. Weakness was measured by 3 measurements of the grip strength (GS) in the dominant hand. Slow gait speed was measured through a timed-up and go (TUG) task. Low physical activity was measured with the Spanish version of the Minnesota Physical Activity Questionnaire (VREM). MCI and SCD were diagnosed using the current criteria. The level of CR was established using the scores of the Cognitive Reserve Index questionnaire (CRIq). Bivariate correlations were made between CRIq subscales scores and the results in GS, TUG and VREM. A higher percentage of high CR was observed in participants without frailty, and a higher percentage of participants with medium level of CR showed pre-frailty (c2 = 27,96 p<.05). Significant moderate correlations were obtained between GS and CRI-q working activity (r = .47), and between TUG and CRI-q leisure time (r = -.35). As expected for a risk factor for dementia, there were significant relationships between CF and several domains of CR. Future longitudinal analysis should analyze the capacity of the CR to attenuate or delay the onset of cognitive frailty.