Amnestic mild cognitive impairment doubles risk of death

US researchers have found that people with a form of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease, have twice the risk of dying compared with cognitively normal people. The findings were presented Monday at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Vancouver. Amnestic MCI is a condition in which people have memory problems more severe than normal for their age and education, but not serious enough to affect daily life. According to the American Alzheimer's Association, long-term studies suggest that 10 to 20 percent of people aged 65 and older may have MCI. Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York studied 733 individuals enrolled in the Einstein Aging Study. The participants were at least 70-years-old. At the start of the study, each had a cognitive evaluation for baseline and at least one annual follow-up visit. They were also tested for the APOE-4 gene variant, which is linked to increased risk for Alzheimer's. Participants were followed for an average of five years (up to a high of 16 years). Study investigators found that participants with amnestic MCI had more than two times (2.17) greater risk of death. Nonamnestic MCI did not appear to increase mortality risk. The risk of death among participants with dementia was more than three times greater (3.26) than that of those who were cognitively normal. Researchers also found that having the APOE-4 gene variant, a greater number of co-morbidities, and severe depression were also related to higher risk of mortality. "While there is no treatment for MCI, dementia or Alzheimer's, these findings support the benefits of early detection and monitoring of cognitive impairment in order to prolong life," said Richard Lipton, senior author of the study and director of the Einstein Aging Study.