Abstract
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and depression are common and frequently misdiagnosed in older adults in primary care. In particular, depression combined with cognitive dysfunction is associated with a higher risk of dementia. We tried to find the usefulness of orientation to time as an easy case-finding tool for suspecting MCI or depression. This cross-sectional study included 2668 community-dwelling adults aged 70–84 years from the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (mean age of 76.0 ± 3.9 years). MCI was defined based on the criteria from the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association; depression was defined as a score of ≥6 on the Geriatric Depression Scale—Short Form (GDS-SF). Time orientation to year, month, day of the week, date, and season were tested. The sensitivity for the diagnosis of each of MCI and depression was the highest for the orientation to year (MCI, 17.7%; depression, 16.0%). For the diagnosis of MCI or depression, orientation to the year had the highest sensitivity (15.5%), and the specificity, PPV, NPV was 95.5%, 67.0%, 65.5%. In conclusion, asking “what year is it?” can be helpful as an aid to case finding to suspect MCI or depression in community and primary care settings.
Highlights
We examined the value of the time-orientation test as an aid to case finding for Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and/or depression
Adults who participated in the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS) were aged between 70 and 84 years
We found that 8.6% of the community-dwelling older adults in South Korea had disorientation to the year, and the older adults with disorientation to the year had a high probability of having MCI or depression, the sensitivity is low
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Of the items examined in the MMSE, orientation in time and delayed recall are known to be more closely related to Alzheimer’s disease [10] Those with at least one error in the time-orientation domain are known to have a 58% higher risk of dementia [10]. According to one meta-analysis, primary care physicians have correctly detected only 47.3% of patients with depression among older adults over 60 years of age [14]. An easy case-finding tool for suspecting depression or MCI in older adults in primary care is needed. Based on this context, we examined the value of the time-orientation test as an aid to case finding for MCI and/or depression
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