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Predictors of Cognitive Impairment Severity in Rural Patients at a Memory Clinic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2014

Catherine Lacny ,
Andrew Kirk ,
Debra G. Morgan  and
Chandima Karunanayake
Catherine Lacny*
Affiliation:
College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Andrew Kirk
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Debra G. Morgan
Affiliation:
Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Chandima Karunanayake
Affiliation:
Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
*
College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 123 Forsyth Crescent, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 4H2, Canada. Email: chl093@mail.usask.ca
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Abstract

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Objective:

Patients with dementia benefit from early assessment and diagnosis. In an attempt to identify factors leading to delay in referral, we investigated socio-demographic, clinical, and functional predictors of greater severity of cognitive impairment in dementia patients presenting to a memory clinic in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Methods:

Data collection began in 2004 at the Rural and Remote Memory Clinic in Saskatoon, where non-institutionalized patients were referred by their family physicians. The patient and caregiver questionnaires and assessments administered at the clinic day appointment provided the socio-demographic, clinical, and functional patient variables, as well as the caregiver stress and burden variables. The dependent variable was patient cognitive impairment, as measured by Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) scores. Variables underwent univariate linear regression with 3MS scores in order to determine possible associations. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine predictors of cognitive impairment severity at clinic presentation.

Results:

Our sample included 198 patients (62% female). The mean age was 73.9 years (SD=9.2). We found that an age and gender interaction, years of formal education, Functional Activities Questionnaire score, and Brief Symptom Inventory score were significantly associated with 3MS scores (p<0.05).

Conclusions:

Increased cognitive impairment at presentation was predicted by fewer years of formal education, poorer functional ability, and less caregiver psychological distress. There was a significant interaction between age and gender: younger females were more cognitively impaired than younger males at clinic day, while in older patients, males were more cognitively impaired than females.

Résumé

RÉSUMÉObjectif:

Les patients atteints de démence bénéficient d'une évaluation et d'un diagnostic précoces. Nous avons examiné les facteurs de prédiction sociodémographiques, cliniques et fonctionnels d'un déficit cognitif plus sévère chez les patients atteints de démence lors de leur première consultation à une clinique de la mémoire à Saskatoon, en Saskatchewan, afm d'identifier les facteurs qui contribuent à une orientation plus tardive de ces patients vers un spécialiste.

Méthode:

Nous avons commencé à recueillir les données en 2004 à la Rural and Remote Memory Clinic à Saskatoon, une clinique de la mémoire où les patients externes sont référés par leur médecin de famille. Les données sociodémographiques, cliniques et fonctionnelles des patients ainsi que le niveau de stress et le fardeau rapporté par les soignants ont été recueillis au moyen de questionnaires et d'évaluations faites chez les patients et les soignants au moment de la visite initiale à la clinique. La variable dépendante était le déficit cognitif du patient mesuré par l'échelle de statut mental modifié (3MS). Nous avons utilisé une analyse de régression linéaire univariée pour déterminer les facteurs de prédiction de la sévérité du déficit cognitif au moment de la première visite à la clinique.

Résultats:

Notre échantillon était composé de 198 patients, dont 62% étaient des femmes et l'âge moyen était de 73,9 ans (ÉT = 9,2). Nous avons constaté qu'une interaction entre l'âge et le sexe, le nombre d'années de scolarité, le score au questionnaire d'évaluation de la capacité fonctionnelle et le score à l'inventaire bref des symptômes étaient associés de façon significative aux scores du 3MS (p < 0,05).

Conclusions:

Un niveau de scolarité plus faible, des capacités fonctionnelles moindres et moins de détresse psychologique chez le soignant étaient des facteurs de prédiction d'un déficit cognitif plus élevé au moment de la première consultation. Il existait une interaction significative au point de vue statistique entre l'âge et le sexe: les femmes plus jeunes avaient une atteinte cognitive plus sévère que les hommes plus jeunes au moment de leur première visite à la clinique alors que, chez les patients plus âgés, les hommes avaient une atteinte cognitive plus importante que les femmes.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 39 , Issue 6 , November 2012 , pp. 774 - 781
Copyright
Copyright © The Canadian Journal of Neurological 2012

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