INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 02 Program Schedule 02/15/2024 08:00 am - 09:15 am Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60) Poster Session 02: Aging \| MCI \| Neurodegenerative Disease - PART 1 Final Abstract #51 Early Indicators of Progression to MCI: Neuropsychological Correlates of Pre-MCI Nefeli Gatsiou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece Eleni Aretouli, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece Mary Yannakoulia, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece Efthimios Dardiotis, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece Georgios Hadjigeorgiou, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus Paraskevi Sakka, Athens Association of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, Marousi, United States Nikolaos Scarmeas, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Columbia University, Athens, Greece Mary Kosmidis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece Category: MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment) Keyword 1: dementia - Alzheimer's disease Keyword 2: cognitive functioning Keyword 3: aging disorders Objective: Recent findings have indicated a pre-Mild Cognitive Impairment (pre-MCI) stage in elderly individuals, suggesting insidious progression of cognitive decline. In a longitudinal design, we explored the neuropsychological characteristics of cognitively healthy individuals who later met criteria for MCI, relative to their peers who remained cognitively healthy, to determine factors predictive of conversion to MCI. Participants and Methods: Neuropsychological assessment of 1984 community-dwelling older individuals randomly selected from the population were tested in Phase A, as well as in a follow-up assessment 2.89±0.73 years later, Phase B; based on diagnostic criteria, they were grouped as follows: The pre-MCI group included individuals who were normal in Phase A, but met criteria for MCI in Phase B; the normal group consisted of those characterized as normal in both phases; the MCI group comprised individuals with MCI in both phases. Analysis of covariance was used for performance comparisons among the groups and logistic regression was employed to predict the presence of pre-MCI. Results: We categorized 138 individuals as pre-MCI, 167 as MCI, and 291 as normal (mean age: 73.92±5.53, 75.24±5.41, and 72.784±4.54 years, respectively). The MCI group was older than the other two groups, while no differences were observed among the three groups in terms of gender ratio, educational level, time interval between the two evaluations, history of traumatic brain injury or stroke, and APOEe4 carrier status. Subjective memory complaints were significantly more frequent in the MCI group compared to the other two groups [MCI vs pre-MCI: χ²(1) = 27.263, p < .001, MCI vs normal: χ²(1) = 81.800, p<.001], as well as in the pre-MCI group compared to the normal group [χ²(1) = 7.769, p=.005]. Symptomatology of depression and anxiety possibly affecting cognition was present only in the MCI group. The pre-MCI group performed more poorly than the normal group on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Greek Verbal Learning Test (GVLT), the MCG Complex Figure Test, and semantic verbal fluency (ps<.05). They also displayed higher scores on forgetting (MD = .59, SE = 0.23, p = .03) and encoding deficits (MD =1.464, SE=0.35, p < 0.001). In contrast, they had better scores than the MCI group on most neuropsychological variables (ps < .05) (with the exception of forgetting, vocabulary, recitation of months, and the Trail Making Test Part A). Only semantic verbal fluency performance predicted conversion from normal to pre-MCI (OR=1.081, 95% CI: 1.020-1.145, p=.008). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that pre-MCI represents an intermediate stage between normal aging and MCI with distinct neuropsychological characteristics. Individuals with pre-MCI showed worse performance in memory and semantic verbal fluency, compared to their normal peers, while demonstrating better performance than individuals with MCI on most neuropsychological tests. Performance on semantic verbal fluency appeared to be a significant factor for the prediction of, and conversion to, MCI.

Poster

02/15/2024
08:00 am - 09:15 am
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)

Poster Session 02: Aging | MCI | Neurodegenerative Disease - PART 1

Final Abstract #51

Early Indicators of Progression to MCI: Neuropsychological Correlates of Pre-MCI

Nefeli Gatsiou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Eleni Aretouli, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
Mary Yannakoulia, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece
Efthimios Dardiotis, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
Georgios Hadjigeorgiou, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
Paraskevi Sakka, Athens Association of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, Marousi, United States
Nikolaos Scarmeas, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Columbia University, Athens, Greece
Mary Kosmidis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Category: MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment)

Keyword 1: dementia - Alzheimer's disease
Keyword 2: cognitive functioning
Keyword 3: aging disorders

Objective:

Recent findings have indicated a pre-Mild Cognitive Impairment (pre-MCI) stage in elderly individuals, suggesting insidious progression of cognitive decline. In a longitudinal design, we explored the neuropsychological characteristics of cognitively healthy individuals who later met criteria for MCI, relative to their peers who remained cognitively healthy, to determine factors predictive of conversion to MCI.

Participants and Methods:

Neuropsychological assessment of 1984 community-dwelling older individuals randomly selected from the population were tested in Phase A, as well as in a follow-up assessment 2.89±0.73 years later, Phase B; based on diagnostic criteria, they were grouped as follows: The pre-MCI group included individuals who were normal in Phase A, but met criteria for MCI in Phase B; the normal group consisted of those characterized as normal in both phases; the MCI group comprised individuals with MCI in both phases. Analysis of covariance was used for performance comparisons among the groups and logistic regression was employed to predict the presence of pre-MCI.

Results:

We categorized 138 individuals as pre-MCI, 167 as MCI, and 291 as normal (mean age: 73.92±5.53, 75.24±5.41, and 72.784±4.54 years, respectively). The MCI group was older than the other two groups, while no differences were observed among the three groups in terms of gender ratio, educational level, time interval between the two evaluations, history of traumatic brain injury or stroke, and APOEe4 carrier status. Subjective memory complaints were significantly more frequent in the MCI group compared to the other two groups [MCI vs pre-MCI: χ²(1) = 27.263, p < .001, MCI vs normal: χ²(1) = 81.800, p<.001], as well as in the pre-MCI group compared to the normal group [χ²(1) = 7.769, p=.005]. Symptomatology of depression and anxiety possibly affecting cognition was present only in the MCI group. The pre-MCI group performed more poorly than the normal group on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Greek Verbal Learning Test (GVLT), the MCG Complex Figure Test, and semantic verbal fluency (ps<.05). They also displayed higher scores on forgetting (MD = .59, SE = 0.23, p = .03) and encoding deficits (MD =1.464, SE=0.35, p < 0.001). In contrast, they had better scores than the MCI group on most neuropsychological variables (ps < .05) (with the exception of forgetting, vocabulary, recitation of months, and the Trail Making Test Part A). Only semantic verbal fluency performance predicted conversion from normal to pre-MCI (OR=1.081, 95% CI: 1.020-1.145, p=.008).

Conclusions:

Our findings suggest that pre-MCI represents an intermediate stage between normal aging and MCI with distinct neuropsychological characteristics. Individuals with pre-MCI showed worse performance in memory and semantic verbal fluency, compared to their normal peers, while demonstrating better performance than individuals with MCI on most neuropsychological tests. Performance on semantic verbal fluency appeared to be a significant factor for the prediction of, and conversion to, MCI.