Dementia study identifies target prevention group.(Clinical Rounds)

ORLANDO -- Preliminary findings suggest a 23% prevalence of cognitive impairment not classified as dementia in the U.S. population older than 70, according to results presented at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America.

This is a group that could potentially be targeted for prevention, said Dr. Kenneth Langa, an investigator in the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study (ADAMS) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

In addition, the findings suggest a 14% prevalence of dementia in the same population.

"The identification of cognitive impairment not classified as dementia [CIND] in its early stages may allow medical and behavioral interventions for those most likely to benefit," Dr. Langa said at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America.

This is the first study to estimate the U.S. prevalence of CIND, and the results are significantly higher than those from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging, which reported a 17% rate in those aged 65 years and older, he said in an interview.

Among patients with CIND, 39% have a mild ambiguous subtype, which carries a 30% risk of progression to dementia. Another 23% of CIND patients have a subtype that is linked to coexisting medical conditions and carries the highest risk of death (28%), but also the highest rate of recovery, he said.

"One of the outcomes of this work was to identify these subtypes that are at increased risk for progression [that] might be especially good targets for interventions," he said.