Mortality in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Longitudinal Study in Memory Clinics

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Connors, Michael H.^{a; b} | Ames, David^{c; d} | Boundy, Karyn^e | Clarnette, Roger^f | Kurrle, Sue^g | Mander, Alastair^h | Ward, Johnⁱ | Woodward, Michael^j | Brodaty, Henry^{a; b; *}

Affiliations: [a] Dementia Collaborative Research Centre, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Australia, Sydney, Australia | [b] Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia | [c] Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia | [d] National Ageing Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia | [e] Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide, Australia | [f] School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia | [g] Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia | [h] Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia | [i] School of Medicine and Population Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia | [j] Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Australia

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Henry Brodaty, MBBS MD DSc, Dementia Collaborative Research Centre, Level 3, AGSM Bldg (G27), University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia. Tel.: +61 2 9385 2585; Fax: +61 2 9385 2200; E-mail: h.brodaty@unsw.edu.au.

Abstract: Background: Patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are at greater risk of mortality than the general population. Comparatively little research has examined predictors of mortality in MCI and no research has examined whether time-varying variables, such as change in cognition and function, predict survival. Objective: To identify predictors of mortality in patients with MCI. Methods: 185 patients with MCI were recruited from nine memory clinics around Australia. Patients completed measures of cognition, function, and neuropsychiatric symptoms over three years. Mortality data were obtained from state registries eight years after baseline. Results: 55 (30%) patients died within this period. Older age, lower cognitive and functional ability at baseline, and greater decline in functional ability over six months predicted mortality. Conclusion: Easily measurable clinical data predict mortality in patients with MCI. Longitudinal assessment over time can provide additional information about patients’ risk.

Keywords: Lifespan, longitudinal studies, mild cognitive impairment, mortality, risk factors, survival

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-160148

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 149-155, 2016