Progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia: A 3-year longitudinal study

Abstract

Objective: To examine characteristics that predict the progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia.Methods: Of 970 patients recruited from nine memory clinics around Australia, 185 had mild cognitive impairment diagnosed. Measures of cognitive ability, functional ability, and neuropsychiatric symptoms were completed at baseline and over 3 years of follow up.Results: Over 3 years, 52 (28%) patients with mild cognitive impairment developed dementia. Older age, lower cognitive ability at baseline, and faster decline in cognitive ability over the first 6 months of follow up, but not depression, predicted progression to dementia.Conclusions: The findings confirm that simple clinical da..