Amnestic mild cognitive impairment often leads to Alzheimer's disease, but what predicts aMCI? A study involving 94 older adults has revealed that lower performance on tests measuring learning, in conjunction with either slower visuomotor processing speed or depressive symptoms, predicted the development of aMCI a year later with an accuracy of 80-100%. It is worth emphasizing that poor learning alone was not predictive in that time-frame, although one learning measure was predictive of aMCI two years later. Interestingly, neither gender nor possession of the ‘Alzheimer’s gene’ —long believed to be risk factors for mild cognitive impairment — had any substantial influence on later impairment.
Memory problems not the only predictor of later mild cognitive impairment
Reference
HAN, D., SUZUKI, H., JAK, A. J., CHANG, Y.-L., SALMON, D. P., & BONDI, M. W. (2010). Hierarchical Cognitive and Psychosocial Predictors of Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment. Retrieved from http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7812581&fulltextType=BT&fileId=S1355617710000512
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