The Use and Understanding of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Routine Specialist Care: A Survey Among German Memory Clinics
<b>Objectives</b>: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a heterogeneous clinical syndrome and is important for the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). With the expansion of biomarker-based diagnostics, the aim of this study is to clarify the current attitudes towards and...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Geriatrics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2308-3417/10/1/21 |
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| Summary: | <b>Objectives</b>: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a heterogeneous clinical syndrome and is important for the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). With the expansion of biomarker-based diagnostics, the aim of this study is to clarify the current attitudes towards and the use of MCI, and MCI due to AD, in German memory clinics. <b>Methods</b>: An online survey (50 items) was performed in 2022 among specialized clinicians (<i>N</i> = 45) in German memory clinics to assess the use of MCI and biomarkers in current diagnosis and treatment. Attitudinal and frequency items were assessed with a five-point numeric scale (<i>strongly disagree</i> = 1 to <i>completely agree</i> = 5 and <i>never</i> = 1 to <i>always</i> = 5, respectively). <b>Results</b>: All respondents used MCI as a clinical diagnosis. The benefits of diagnosing MCI were labeling deficits as disease symptoms (<i>M</i> = 4.4, <i>SD</i> = 0.7), improving coping with symptoms (<i>M</i> = 4.1, <i>SD</i> = 0.9), and motivating risk reduction activities (<i>M =</i> 4.0, <i>SD</i> = 0.9). Overall, 37 respondents used specialized diagnostic criteria for MCI due to AD, and all had access to biomarker diagnostics. Patients with MCI due to AD received more frequent counseling on memory training (<i>p</i> < 0.001), other non-pharmacological treatments (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and antidementive drug treatment (<i>p</i> < 0.001) than patients with MCI of other etiologies. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors were prescribed significantly more frequently to patients with MCI due to AD (<i>p</i> < 0.001) compared to other MCI patients. <b>Conclusions</b>: MCI is commonly used as a clinical diagnosis in German memory clinics. AD biomarker assessment is well established and influences patient counseling and treatment recommendations. |
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| ISSN: | 2308-3417 |