A Community-Based Longitudinal Study of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in Georgia

Abstract Objective: As the average population ages, dementia has become one a leading challenge for health care systems in developing and developed countries. Dementia is a progressive disorder associated with the decline of cognitive function and the ability to carry out daily activities. Along with the development of screening tools to detect early-stage MCI, it is important to find out the time-line for the MCI progression. There is little recent information available on the natural course of MCI in Georgia. Method: A 7-year longitudinal study was conducted to track MCI progression, comparing individuals with initially healthy cognition (N=52) to patients showing symptoms of MCI (N=51). This study used MoCA as an indicator of cognitive change over the 7-year period. The MoCA was administered twice approximately 7 years apart and IADLs-at the end of the research. Participants were classified as MCI or cognitively intact based, on the results of the MoCA results. Results: Healthy individuals had a very limited decline in MoCA scores (M=-0.004, p<.001); MCI group also showed a some decrease in MoCA scores (M=-1.2, p<.002) without any changes in IADLs scores; whereas 17.6% of healthy individuals progressed to MCI at the end of the research (M=- 4.8, p<.03), associated with the significant decline of the IADLs scores (M=-2, St.dev=3.2, p<.03), as well. Conclusion: Progression of MCI based on MoCA and IADLs results can indicate patients’ declining ability for self-care. Because MCI patients will need increased care and monitoring as the disease progresses, the social burden of caring for these patients will likely also increase.