Risk of progression to dementia overestimated

People with mild cognitive impairment appear to have a lower risk of progressing to full blown dementia than previously thought, according to a new report.

Mild cognitive impairment is a transitional stage between normal brain function and dementia/Alzheimer’s disease.

It’s estimated that up to 15 percent of people with mild cognitive impairment go on to develop dementia, Dr. Alex J. Mitchell, of the University of Leicester, and Dr. M. Shiri-Feshki, of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, note in a report in the journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.

However, based on pooled data from 41 published studies they analyzed, the proportion of patients with mild memory problems who progress to full dementia is 10 percent per year in high-risk groups and 5 percent per year in low-risk groups.

“Moreover, only a minority (20 to 40 percent) of people developed dementia even after extended follow-up, and the risk appeared to reduce slightly with time,” Mitchell noted in a university statement.

Mild cognitive impairment can no longer be assumed to always be a simple transitional state between normal aging and dementia,” the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, April 2009.

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