Abstract
ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the association of Test Your Memory (TYM)‐defined cognitive impairment groups with known sociodemographic and cardiometabolic correlates of cognitive impairment in a population‐based study of older adults.MethodsParticipants were members of the British Regional Heart Study, a cohort across 24 British towns initiated in 1978–1980. Data stemmed from 1570 British men examined in 2010–2012, aged 71–92 years. Sociodemographic and cardiometabolic factors were compared between participants defined as having TYM scores in the normal cognitive ageing, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and severe cognitive impairment (SCI) groups, defined as ≥46 (45 if ≥80 years of age), ≥33 and <33, respectively.ResultsAmong 1570 men, 636 (41%) were classified in the MCI and 133 (8%) in the SCI groups. Compared with participants in the normal cognitive ageing category, individuals with SCI were characterized primarily by lower socio‐economic position (odds ratio (OR) = 6.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.00–9.46), slower average walking speed (OR = 3.36, 95% CI 2.21–5.10), mobility problems (OR = 4.61, 95% CI 3.04–6.97), poorer self‐reported overall health (OR = 2.63, 95% CI 1.79–3.87), obesity (OR = 2.59, 95% CI 1.72–3.91) and impaired lung function (OR = 2.25, 95% CI 1.47–3.45). A similar albeit slightly weaker pattern was observed for participants with MCI.ConclusionSociodemographic and lifestyle factors as well as adiposity measures, lung function and poor overall health are associated with cognitive impairments in late life. The correlates of cognitive abilities in the MCI and SCI groups, as defined by the TYM, resemble the risk profile for MCI and Alzheimer's disease outlined in current epidemiological models. © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Highlights
Current global estimates suggest that 25–35 million people are currently affected by severe cognitive impairments (SCI) (Qiu et al, 2009; World Health Organization, 2012), the most common form being Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (Plassman et al, 2007)
We investigated whether the established risk pattern for late-life mild cognitive impairments (MCI) and SCI is the same in a general population sample of British men aged 71–92 years assessed with the Test Your Memory (TYM)
The results suggest that for all items comprising the TYM, higher rates of participants classified in the normal cognitive ageing group were able to obtain maximum scores, followed by those with MCI (22–39%) and SCI (0–6%)
Summary
Current global estimates suggest that 25–35 million people are currently affected by severe cognitive impairments (SCI) (Qiu et al, 2009; World Health Organization, 2012), the most common form being Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (Plassman et al, 2007). Established correlates for AD or even milder declines in cognitive abilities in late life include low physical activity (Winchester et al, 2013), impaired motor (Mirelman et al, 2014) and lung function (Bozek and Jarzab, 2011), and smoking (Anstey et al, 2007; Peters et al, 2008) as well as a positive history of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) (de la Torre, 2004) and/or diabetes (Tolppanen et al, 2013). Correlates of TYM-defined cognitive groups functional dependence (Aguero-Torres et al, 1998). It remains unclear whether AD is associated with late-life hypertension (Power et al, 2011), hypercholesterolaemia (Polidori et al, 2012) and obesity (Anstey et al, 2011)
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