Predictors of Clinical Progression of Subjective Memory Impairment in Elderly Subjects: Data from the Clinical Research Centers for Dementia of South Korea (CREDOS).

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aims of this study were to determine baseline factors related to the progression of subjective memory impairment (SMI) in elderly subjects and to develop a new modeling scale to predict progression.

METHODS

Elderly subjects with SMI were recruited from the nationwide Clinical Research Centers for Dementia of South Korea (CREDOS) multicenter cohort and divided into two groups: (1) progressed to mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease or (2) stable without progression. Baseline clinical characteristics were compared between the groups, and the most relevant predictors of progression were assessed. A new modeling scale combining the predictors was developed.

RESULTS

In total, 129 subjects with SMI were analyzed. The follow-up duration was 0.5-4.7 years, and the median time to event was 3.64 years. The progressing group (n = 29) differed from the stable group (n = 100) in terms of baseline age, apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) status, and some cognitive domains. Older age, a lower Mini-Mental State Examination recall score, APOE4 carrier, and a lower verbal delayed recall score were the most relevant predictors of progression, and a new modeling scale with these 4 predictors provided a better explanation of progression.

CONCLUSION

SMI subjects with a higher risk of progression can be identified using a new modeling scale and might need further evaluations and more frequent follow-up.