Factors associated with cognitive evaluations in the United States.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to explore factors associated with clinical evaluations for cognitive impairment among older residents of the United States. METHODS: Two hundred ninety-seven of 845 subjects in the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study (ADAMS), a nationally representative community-based cohort study, met criteria for dementia after a detailed in-person study examination. Informants for these subjects reported whether or not they had ever received a clinical cognitive evaluation outside of the context of ADAMS. Among subjects with dementia, we evaluated demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical factors associated with an informant-reported clinical cognitive evaluation using bivariate analyses and multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Of the 297 participants with dementia in ADAMS, 55.2% (representing about 1.8 million elderly Americans in 2002) reported no history of a clinical cognitive evaluation by a physician. In a multivariable logistic regression model (n = 297) controlling for demographics, physical function measures, and dementia severity, marital status (odds ratio for currently married: 2.63 [95% confidence interval: 1.10-6.35]) was the only significant independent predictor of receiving a clinical cognitive evaluation among subjects with study-confirmed dementia. CONCLUSIONS: Many elderly individuals with dementia do not receive clinical cognitive evaluations. The likelihood of receiving a clinical cognitive evaluation in elderly individuals with dementia associates with certain patient-specific factors, particularly severity of cognitive impairment and current marital status.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Kotagal, V; Langa, KM; Plassman, BL; Fisher, GG; Giordani, BJ; Wallace, RB; Burke, JR; Steffens, DC; Kabeto, M; Albin, RL; Foster, NL
Published Date
- January 6, 2015
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 84 / 1
Start / End Page
- 64 - 71
PubMed ID
- 25428689
Pubmed Central ID
- PMC4336093
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1526-632X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1212/WNL.0000000000001096
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States