Tests Pinpoint Dementia Onset
University of Oxford (United Kingdom) scientists have found that language and memory tests can reliably predict when a healthy elderly person is likely to develop Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a frequent precursor to dementia. Abderrahim Oulhaj and colleagues studied 241 healthy elderly participants, following-up for up to 20 years and assessing all via the Cambridge Cognitive Examination (CAMCOG). In total, 91 of the participants developed MCI. The team found that language skills, such as verbal fluency and comprehension, were the strongest predictor of the time it took for a healthy person to develop MCI. The time it took for a person to develop MCI was 14% shorter for each five years of age, 17% shorter for each point lower in the language test and 15% shorter for each point lower in the memory test. In other words, older people and those scoring lower on the language or memory tests were more likely to develop MCI more quickly.
Abderrahim Oulhaj, Gordon K. Wilcock, A. David Smith, Celeste A. de Jager. “Predicting the time of conversion to MCI in the elderly: Role of verbal expression and learning.” Neurology 2009 73: 1436-1442.
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