Dementia onset among community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment: A longitudinal study

Purpose: The aims of this study were to examine the rate of the changes in cognitive function and the related-factors in progression from the community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment to dementia during 3 years. Methods: Data were selected from the Seoul Dementia Management Project with 1,375 community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment at baseline and monitored the changes in cognitive function after 3 years. The main variables were included demographic characteristics, body mass index, cognitive function, attended number of non-pharmacological programs, and activity of daily living (ADL)-related educational programs. Data were analyzed using chi-square test, independent t-test, and logistic regression. Results: Of all the participants, 83.0% remained with mild cognitive impairment, and 17.0% progressed to dementia after 3 years. Old age (odds ratio OR=1.06, 95% confidence Interval CI=1.04~1.09), no exercise (OR=1.42, 95% CI=1.04~1.93), attendance at non-pharmacological programs less than eight times (OR=4.17, 95% CI=2.05~8.49), and no attendance at ADL-related educational programs (OR=1.05, 95% CI=1.02~1.26) significantly affected dementia progression. Conclusion: Regardless of the types of non-pharmacological programs, regular and continuous non-pharmacological programs must be one of the important services of the dementia care centers in Korea. The result of this study serves the basis for developing further strategies to activate non-pharmacological programs and ADL-related educational programs at the community level for older adults with mild cognitive impairment to prevent in progressing to dementia.