From mild cognitive impairment to dementia: a prevalence study in a district of Tuscany, Italy

• Published in: Acta neurologica Scandinavica Vol. 112; no. 2; pp. 65 - 71
• Main Authors: Tognoni, G., Ceravolo, R., Nucciarone, B., Bianchi, F., Dell'Agnello, G., Ghicopulos, I., Siciliano, G., Murri, L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Munksgaard International Publishers 01-08-2005; Blackwell
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aged; Alzheimer Disease - diagnosis; Alzheimer Disease - epidemiology; Alzheimer Disease - psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Cognition Disorders - epidemiology; Cognition Disorders - psychology; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; dementia; Dementia - diagnosis; Dementia - epidemiology; Dementia - psychology; Dementia, Vascular - diagnosis; Dementia, Vascular - epidemiology; Dementia, Vascular - psychology; Disease Progression; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Educational Status; Female; Humans; Italy - epidemiology; Male; Mass Screening; Medical sciences; mild cognitive impairment; Nervous system involvement in other diseases. Miscellaneous; Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; Prevalence; Sex Factors; Tumors of striated muscle and skeleton; Italy; Europe; Nervous system diseases; mild cognitive impairment; Prevalence; Dementia
• ISSN: 0001-6314; 1600-0404
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2005.00444.x

Objective –  A door‐to‐door two‐phase study was designed in order to estimate the prevalence of cognitive deficit amongst the residents of a district in Tuscany (central Italy). Identification of cases with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) was given high priority, because this condition has been suggested as a term for the boundary area between normal aging and dementia.
Methods –  Of the 1600 subjects who completed the screening phase, 354 scored under the cut‐off point of the Mini Mental State Examination and Clinical Dementia Rating and were investigated by means of a standardized diagnostic protocol.
Results –  The prevalence of MCI and age‐related cognitive decline was 4.9 and 9.3%, respectively; low levels of education significantly increased the risk of these conditions. The prevalence of dementia over age 65 was 6.2%, with a significant risk association with age. In our population, Alzheimer's disease was the most frequent type of dementia (prevalence rate 4.2%) and increased risk depending on age, sex and education has been found.
Conclusions –  Our findings are somewhat similar to previous studies. Further epidemiological and longitudinal studies are warranted to identify which diagnostic category is more predictive for dementia.