🌅 Most Mild Cognitive Impairments Go Undiagnosed

SOURCE

Mattke et al. (2023)

WHAT TO KNOW

• Researchers at the University of Southern California examined health data from 40 million Americans aged 65 and older, finding fewer than 8% of the expected cases of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were actually diagnosed. Put differently, of the roughly 8 million Americans in the age group expected to have MCI based on their demographic profile, about 7.4 million have gone undiagnosed.

WHY IT MATTERS

• The authors say the study is meant to raise awareness, encouraging people to pay attention to any changes in cognition as they age and to tell their doctors about it as soon as they do. A second study by the same research team found 99% of primary care clinicians underdiagnose MCI, underscoring the importance of self-detection.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• MCI is influenced by socioeconomic factors, like being a member of historically disadvantaged groups, as well as a variety of health factors, like cardiovascular disease and hypertension, among others. The most common forms of MCI are forgetfulness and the loss of executive form (e.g., tasks that once seemed simple becoming difficult), though behavioral changes can also surface, which may include apparent personality changes.