Using Interaction between Cognitive and Motor Impairment for Risk Screening of Major Neurocognitive Disorders: Results of the EPIDOS Observational Cohort Study

Background and purpose: Cognitive and motor impairments are risk factors of major neurocognitive disorders (MNCD). Inability to name the date and use of a walking aid and/or history of falls are two items which are surrogate measures of cognitive and motor impairments. This study aims to examine the association of inability to name the date (i.e., cognitive impairment), use of a walking aid and/or history of falls (i.e., motor impairment) and their combination with incident MNCD in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: A total of 709 participants (mean age 79.8 ± 3.7; 100% female) of the EPIDémiologie de l’OStéoporose (EPIDOS) study recruited in Toulouse (France) were selected for this study. EPIDOS is an observational population-based cohort study with a 7-year follow-up period for Toulouse participants. Inability to name the date and use of a walking aid and/or history of falls were collected at baseline. Incident MNCD and their type (i.e., Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and non-AD) were diagnosed at the end of the 7-year follow-up. Results: Overall incidence of MNCD was 29.1%. Cox regressions revealed that inability to name the date and its combination with use of a walking aid and/or history of falls was associated with a significant increased incidence of MNCD (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.10 with p = 0.003 and HR = 1.81 with p = 0.011, respectively) and AD (HR =1.13 with p = 0.003 and HR = 2.80 with p = 0.016, respectively). Conclusions: Increased incident MNCD was reported when inability to name the date and use of a walking aid and/or history of falls were combined, suggesting that this combination of items may be used for risk screening of MNCD in the older population, especially for incident AD.