Prevalence of cognitive impairment among older US veterans increased from 2010 to 2019
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Key takeaways:
- The study examined veterans aged 65 years and older with mild cognitive impairment.
- Prevalence of MCI increased across study parameters for age, sex and race.
Prevalence of mild cognitive impairment among United States military veterans aged 65 years and older increased from 2010 to 2019, according to a poster presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.
“Individuals with mild cognitive impairment, a noticeable decline in cognitive abilities, are at increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or other dementia,” Donald R. Miller, ScD, study co-author and faculty member at the Center for Population Health at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and colleagues wrote.
Utilizing clinical notes from the Veterans Affairs Administration, Miller and colleagues sought to provide a snapshot of MCI prevalence among U.S military veterans over a 10-year period.
They conducted a keyword search from fiscal years 2010 to 2019 to find individuals aged 65 years and older with mild cognitive impairment, with known sex and age, who were alive at the beginning of each fiscal year and who received either inpatient or outpatient care in the VA during a particular fiscal year. A total of 199 cases were included from clinical notes with a predictive value of approximately 91%. Age- and sex-adjusted prevalence rates for MCI attuned to the general population recorded in the 2020 U.S. Census were estimated for each fiscal year.
According to results, prevalence of mild cognitive impairment increased from 2010 to 2019 by sex (0.93% in 2010 to 2.03% in 2019 for men; 1.31% in 2010 to 2.88% for women), race (0.51% to 1.03% for white veterans; 0.83% to 1.77% for Black veterans; 0.83% to 1.2% for Hispanic veterans) and age (0.78% to 1.81% among those aged 65 to 74 years; 1.51% to 3.17% for those aged 75 to 84 years; 2.04% to 4.39% for those aged 85 and older).
“Considering the increased risk of dementia among individuals with [mild cognitive impairment], our study finding of increasing prevalence among veterans highlights the critical need for effective interventions and treatment to target veterans,” Miller and colleagues wrote.