Older Rural‐ and Urban‐Dwelling Appalachian Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment
Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: PURPOSE: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a well-recognized risk state for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. MCI is rapidly increasing among older adults in general and has not yet been examined in older adults within the Appalachian region. Our objective was to compare MCI symptom severity among older rural and urban Appalachian adults with MCI at an initial neuropsychological testing visit. METHODS: A cross-sectional, descriptive study of older Appalachian adults with MCI was conducted using data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set. Symptom severity was conceptualized as neuropsychological composite scores across 4 cognitive domains and Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SOB) score. For group comparisons, MANCOVA was used for cognitive domains and ANCOVA for CDR-SOB. RESULTS: The sample (N = 289) was about half male (54.3%), predominantly white (91.7%), and living with others (83.5%), with a mean (±SD) 74.6 ± 6.2 years of age and 15.4 ± 3.0 years of education. Rural and urban groups differed significantly in years since onset of cognitive symptoms (2.98 ± 1.91 in rural and 3.89 ± 2.70 in urban adults, t[260] = -2.23, P = .03), but they did not differ across sociodemographic features or comorbid conditions. Rural and urban participants were similar across the 4 cognitive domains and CDR-SOB (P ≥ .05). DISCUSSION: No differences were found between rural and urban Appalachian residents on MCI symptom severity. However, urban residents reported a longer time lapse from symptom identification to diagnosis than their rural counterparts. Future studies using more representative population samples of Appalachian and non-Appalachian adults will provide an important next step to identifying disparate cognitive health outcomes in this traditionally underserved region.
Source: The Journal of Rural Health
DOI: 10.1111/jrh.12189
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, Neurobiology of Alzheimer's Disease and Aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Rural Dwelling Adults, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center, UCSD Alzheimer's Disease Research Center P50, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, The Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of California, Irvine, Oregon Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, Temporal Trends, Novel Imaging and Molecular Characterization of Preclinical and Clinical Alzheimer's Disease in the Framingham Cohorts, G5163859001, Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center - Overall, Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Kansas Alzheimer's Disease Core Centers, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Arizona Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, Johns Hopkins Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Healthy Aging and Senile Dementia, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Center, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Massachusetts Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, Emory Alzheimer's Disease Center, New Approaches to Dementia Heterogeneity, Mayo Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
OpenAlex ID: W2520591313