Study of Leptin and Adiponectin among Indian Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Initial Experience of Memory Clinic from a Geriatric Tertiary Care Center in India.

INTRODUCTION

We aimed to report the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among healthcare-seeking Indian older adults and study the relationship between serum leptin and adiponectin with MCI.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study, conducted in a tertiary care center's Memory Clinic in India, utilized Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) for patient categorization. Patients with a CDR of 0.5 were diagnosed with MCI, excluding those with a CDR >1. Biochemical markers, including leptin and adiponectin, were measured using ELISA.

RESULTS

During the study period of 2 years, 163 patients were included. Among them, 84 (52%) had MCI, and 58 (69%) had amnestic MCI. Patients with MCI were older (69.4 vs. 67.4, p = 0.048) and more prevalent in males (29 [72.50%] vs. 11 [44.72%], p = 0.002). Poor education and lower socio-economic status were associated with MCI. Among comorbidities and geriatric syndromes, multi-morbidity (OR: 7.35; 95% CI: 3.44-15.69), diabetes (OR: 2.65; 95% CI: 1.25-5.63), cerebrovascular accident (OR: 27.68; 95% CI: 6.18-124.06), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR: 4.77; 95% CI: 2.11-10.76), coronary artery disease (OR: 6.64; 95% CI: 2.30-19.12), and urinary incontinence (OR: 5.63; 95% CI: 2.25-14.11) were associated with MCI. Adiponectin was significantly lower in patients with MCI (1.36 vs. 2.50, p = 0.003), whereas serum leptin was higher (2.56 vs. 2.46, p = 0.827) but not significant after adjusting for age, sex, diabetes, and coronary artery disease.

CONCLUSION

In healthcare-seeking older patients MCI is prevalent and low serum adiponectin may serve as a valuable marker. Addressing multi-morbidity early at the primary care level could be a promising strategy for preventing dementia.