Screening for Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults Attending an Eye Clinic: RESULTS

Figure 1 shows the frequency of subjects by performance on the SLUMS measure. Thirty-five subjects had normal scores. Sixty-five subjects had scores in the cognitive impairment range: 46 with mild cognitive impairment and 19 with severe impairment (possible dementia).

Figure 1. Frequency of cognitive impairment using St Louis University Mental Status Examination Scale (SLUMS), n=100

Table 1. Characteristics of Cognitive Impairment Using Saint Louis Mental Status Examination Scale

Table 1 presents the characteristics associated with cognitive impairments (mild or severe) in subjects aged >55 attending the eye clinic. African-American and Hispanic adults (nonwhites) were significantly more likely to have cognitive impairment (76.9% in nonwhites vs. 57.4% in whites, p=0.046). Subjects with diabetes (actos pharmacy treat type II of diabetes) were also significantly more likely to have cognitive impairment (81.6% in diabetics vs. 54.8% in nondiabetics, p=0.007. There was a nonsignificant trend between visual acuity impairment and cognitive impairment (p=0.059).

Table 2. Logistic Regression Models for Factors Predicting of Cognitive Impairment on SLUMS Examination

Table 2 presents the logistic regression models for factors predicting cognitive impairments on the SLUMS instrument. In the unadjusted model with white ethnicity as reference category, the odds ratio (OR) of cognitive impairment for nonwhites was 2.48 (95% CI=1.01-6.10). Even after controlling for age, years of education and systolic blood pressure in the adjusted model 1, the odds of cognitive impairment in nonwhites was still significantly higher than for whites. However, after adjusting for diabetes (avandia 4 mg treat high blood sugar levels (sugar diabetes) called type 2 diabetes), ethnicity was no longer predictive of cognitive impairment, indicating a possible mediating role for diabetes (Generic Amaryl treating patients with type 2 diabetes) in the ethnic differences in risk of cognitive impairment. Presence of diabetes was also significantly predictive of cognitive impairment, even after controlling for all variables in Table 2 (OR 3.28, 95% CI=1.21-8.90); with the wide confidence interval reflecting the small number of 38 subjects with diabetes.