title: Mild cognitive impairment in the population and physical health: data on 1,435 individuals aged 75 to 95.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The physical health correlates of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the older individual are poorly known. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between physical health and MCI with population data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were 1,435 nondemented 75- to 95-year-old subjects. MCI was defined as scoring one standard deviation below age- and education-specific means on the Mini-Mental State Examination. MCI was consistently associated with indicators of poorer health in logistic regression models with adjustment for potential confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The adjusted odds ratios for those with two, three, four, or more somatic symptoms compared with those with one or no symptoms were 1.3 (95% confidence intervals 1.0 to 1.9) and 2.1 (1.2 to 4.5; p for trend =.004); for those with poor self-rated health the odds ratio was 1.9 (1.4 to 2.6); for those with one, two, or more chronic diseases compared with those with no chronic diseases, the odds ratios were 1.3 (0.9 to 1.9) and 3.0 (1.2 to 7.6; p for trend =.02); and for those dying during the 3-year follow-up period the odds ratio was 1.5 (1.1 to 2.2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MCI is associated with poor physical health, leading to the hypothesis of a causal relationship between physical diseases and MCI in older populations.
authors.affiliation: Stockholm Gerontology Research Center, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Neurotec, Karolinska Institute, Sweden. frisoni@master.cci.unibs.it
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Frisoni
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fratiglioni
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fastbom
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Viitanen
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Winblad
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index