The prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer disease (AD) have not been well been studied in Arab populations. In a door-to-door study of all residents aged ≥65 years in Wadi-Ara, an Arab community in northern Israel, we estimated the prevalence of AD, MCI and the risk of conversion to AD. Subjects were classified as cognitively normal, MCI, AD or other based on neurological and cognitive examination (in Arabic). MCI subjects were re-examined (interval ≥1 year) to determine conversion to AD and contributions of age, gender and education to the probability of conversion. Of the 944 participants (96.6% of those approached; 49.4% men), 92 (9.8%) had AD. An unusually high prevalence of MCI (n=303, 32.1%) was observed. Since the majority of women (77.2%) had no schooling, we estimated the effect of gender on the risk of AD and MCI among subjects without schooling and of school years among men. Among subjects with no schooling (n=452), age (p=0.02) and female gender (p<0.0001) were significant predictors of AD, whereas risk of MCI increased only with age (p=0.0001). Among men (n=318), age increased the risk (p<0.0001), school years reduced the risk of AD (p=0.039) and similarly for MCI [age (p=0.0001); school years (p=0.0007)]. Age (p=0.013), but not gender or school years, was a significant predictor of conversion from MCI to AD (annual rate 5.7%). The prevalence of MCI and AD are unusually high in Wadi Ara, while the rate of conversion from MCI to AD is low. Yet unidentified genetic factors might underlie this observation.

Midlife habits may be important for the later development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We estimated the contribution of midlife prayer to the development of cognitive decline. In a door-to-door survey, residents aged ≥65 years were systematically evaluated in Arabic including medical history, neurological, cognitive examination, and a midlife leisure-activities questionnaire. Praying was assessed by the number of monthly praying hours at midlife. Stepwise logistic regression models were used to evaluate the effect of prayer on the odds of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD versus cognitively normal individuals. Of 935 individuals that were approached, 778 [normal controls (n=448), AD (n=92) and MCI (n=238)] were evaluated. A higher proportion of cognitively normal individuals engaged in prayer at midlife [(87%) versus MCI (71%) or AD (69%) (p<0.0001)]. Since 94% of males engaged in prayer, the effect on cognitive decline could not be assessed in men. Among women, stepwise logistic regression adjusted for age and education, showed that prayer was significantly associated with reduced risk of MCI (p=0.027, OR=0.55, 95% CI 0.33-0.94), but not AD. Among individuals endorsing prayer activity, the amount of prayer was not associated with MCI or AD in either gender. Praying at midlife is associated with lower risk of mild cognitive impairment in women.

No abstract

No abstract