Characterization of Alzheimer’s Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults in Panama

Article type: Short Communication

Authors: Villarreal, Alcibiades E.^{a; b} | Grajales, Shantal^a | O’Bryant, Sid E.^c | Edwards, Melissa^d | López, Lineth^e | Montalván, Astevia^f | Britton, Gabrielle B.^{a; *} | for the Panama Aging Research Initiative (PARI)

Affiliations: [a] Centro de Neurociencias y Unidad de Investigación Clínica, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP), Ciudad del Saber, Clayton, Apartado Postal 0843-01103, Panamá | [b] Department of Biotechnology, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur 522 510, India | [c] Institute for Healthy Aging, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA | [d] Department of Psychology, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, Denton, TX, 76203, USA | [e] Department of Hematology, Social Security Hospital, Calle José de Fábrega, Vía Simón Bolivar, Panamá | [f] Department of Psychiatry, Social Security Hospital, Calle José de Fábrega, Vía Simón Bolivar, Panamá

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Gabrielle B. Britton, PhD, Centro de Neurociencias y Unidad de Investigación Clínica, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP), Ciudad del Saber #219, Clayton, Apartado Postal 0843-01103, Panamá. Tel.: +507 5170735; Fax: +507 5070000; E-mail: gbritton@indicasat.org.pa.

Abstract: Research on age-related cognitive impairment is scarce in Central America. We report factors associated with cognitive impairment among a sample of older adults in Panama diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD, n = 31), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 43), or no cognitive impairment (controls, n = 185). Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotype was assessed in a subset of cases (n = 135). Age (OR = 2.53, 95% CI = 1.03–6.17) and ApoE ɛ4 (OR = 5.14, 95% CI = 2.11–12.52) were significantly related to cognitive impairment (AD/MCI combined). Results underscore the potential of genetic screening in Panama for identifying those at risk of dementia.

Keywords: Aging, Alzheimer’s disease, apolipoprotein E, cognition, dementia, Latin America, mild cognitive impairment

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-160402

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 54, no. 3, pp. 897-901, 2016