Objectives:We sought to identify characteristics of individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) that are associated with a relatively high probability of reverting back to normal cognition, and to estimate the risk of future cognitive decline among those who revert.
Methods:We first studied 3,020 individuals diagnosed with MCI on at least 1 visit to an Alzheimer's Disease Center in the United States. All underwent standardized Uniform Data Set evaluations at their first visit with an MCI diagnosis and on a subsequent visit, about 1 year later, at which cognitive status was reassessed. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify predictors of reverting from MCI back to normal cognition. We then estimated the risk of developing MCI or dementia over the next 3 years among those who had reverted, compared with individuals who had not had a study visit with MCI.Results: About 16% of subjects diagnosed with MCI reverted back to normal or near-normal cognition approximately 1 year later. Five characteristics assessed at the first MCI visit contributed significantly to a model predicting a return to normal cognition: Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score, Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score, MCI type, Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) score, and APOE ⑀4 status. Survival analysis showed that the risk of retransitioning to MCI or dementia over the next 3 years was sharply elevated among those who had MCI and then improved, compared with individuals with no history of MCI.Conclusions: Even in a cohort of patients seen at dementia research centers, reversion from MCI was fairly common. Nonetheless, those who reverted remained at increased risk for future cognitive decline. Neurology Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is often regarded as an intermediate state on a one-way path from normal cognition to dementia.1 However, several longitudinal epidemiologic studies have found that transition from an MCI diagnosis back to normal cognition is fairly common.
2-9Estimates of transition from MCI back to normal cognition have been quite varied, ranging from 4% to 15% 2-5 in clinic-based studies and 29% to 55% 6 -9 in population-based studies, depending in part on duration of follow-up. To date, few, if any, studies have focused on the subset of subjects who return to normal cognition after an MCI diagnosis. With increasing emphasis on the need to treat incipient dementia at an early stage, 10 it will be important to know which individuals with MCI have a favorable prognosis.The present study had 2 main aims. First, we sought to identify factors associated with increased likelihood of reverting from MCI to normal cognition. We hypothesized that factors that have previously been found to be associated with the progression from MCI to dementia would have the opposite association with the probability of reversion from MCI to normal cognition. We also From the