Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jan;27(1):95-106.
doi: 10.1037/a0030481. Epub 2012 Oct 29.

Four-year outcome of mild cognitive impairment: the contribution of executive dysfunction

Eleni Aretouli  1 , Konstantinos K Tsilidis  2 , Jason Brandt  1
Affiliations

Four-year outcome of mild cognitive impairment: the contribution of executive dysfunction

Eleni Aretouli et al. Neuropsychology. 2013 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: The contribution of executive cognition (EC) to the prediction of incident dementia remains unclear. This prospective study examined the predictive value of EC for subsequent cognitive decline in persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) over a 4-year period.

Method: One hundred forty-one persons with MCI (amnestic and nonamnestic, single- and multiple-domain) received a baseline and two biennial follow-up assessments. Eighteen tests, assessing six different aspects of EC, were administered at baseline and at 2-year follow-up, together with screening cognitive and daily functioning measures. Longitudinal logistic regression models and generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to examine whether EC could predict progression to a Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR; C. P. Hughes, L. Berg, W. L. Danziger, L. A. Coben, & R. L. Martin, 1982, A new clinical scale for the staging of dementia, British Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 140, pp. 566-572) score of 1 or more over the 4-year period, first at the univariate level and then in the context of demographic and clinical characteristics, daily functioning measures, and other neurocognitive factors.

Results: Over the 4-year period, 56% of MCI patients remained stable, 35% progressed to CDR ≥ 1, and 8% reverted to normal (CDR = 0). Amnestic MCI subtypes were not associated with higher rates of progression to dementia, whereas subtypes with multiple impairments were so associated. Eight out of the 18 EC measures, including all three measures assessing inhibition of prepotent responses, predicted MCI outcome at the univariate level. However, the multivariate GEE model indicated that age, daily functioning, and overall cognitive functioning best predicted progression to dementia.

Conclusion: Measures of EC (i.e., inhibitory control) are associated with MCI outcome. However, age and global measures of cognitive and functional impairment are better predictors of incident dementia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participants' follow-up status over the 4 years. Note: *Numbers include also persons that reverted to CDR=0; F/U= follow-up; MCI= mild cognitive impairment
Figure 2
Figure 2
Clinical status at 2-year follow up as a function of group at entry *Number in the parentheses represent the number of the participants in each group at the specific follow-up and at baseline
Figure 3
Figure 3
Clinical status at 4-year follow up as a function of group at entry
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Akaike H. A new look at the statistical model identification. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 1974;19(6):716–723.
    1. Albert MS, Moss MB, Tanzi R, Jones K. Preclinical prediction of AD using neuropsychological tests. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. 2001;7(5):631–639. - PubMed
    1. Alexopoulos P, Grimmer T, Perneczky R, Domes G, Kurz A. Progression to dementia in clinical subtypes of mild cognitive impairment. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. 2006;22(1):27–34. - PubMed
    1. Amieva H, Letenneur L, Dartigues JF, Rouch-Leroyer I, Sourgen C, D'Alchee-Biree F. Annual rate and predictors of conversion to dementia in subjects presenting mild cognitive impairment criteria defined according to a population-based study. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. 2004;18(1):87–93. - PubMed
    1. Amieva H, Phillips L, Della Sala S, Henry J. Inhibitory functioning in Alzheimer's disease. Brain. 2004;127(5):949–964. - PubMed

Publication types