A simple test can help reveal how likely you may be to experience memory problems or cognitive impairment in the years ahead even if you've never had such problems before, a new study out of New York City finds.
Even among those who haven't experienced any sort of major thinking or memory issues before, a new test can help determine the possibility of such problems possibly arising, according to a new study published by the American Academy of Neurology.
The study's author, Ellen Grober, Ph.D., of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, said that the "sensitive and simple memory test predicted the risk of developing cognitive impairment in people who were otherwise considered to have normal cognition."
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Grober's study took nearly 1,000 people with an average age of 69 and no sort of documented memory or thinking problems. They were then given the test, and researchers followed up on them over a 10-year span.
So how does the test work? There were two phases, according to Grober.
In one phase, people were shown four cards with drawings of four items on each. They were then asked to put one of the items pictured into a category (like being asked to identify a fruit, and the participant naming "grapes" if they were pictured).
In another part of the test, the individuals were asked to recall what items were included on the cards — measuring how well they can retrieve information, the authors said. For any items they did not remember, they were given category cues. This portion tested the participants' memory storage.
After those two parts of the test, participants were divided into five groups based on their test scores. The first group had no memory problems. The next two were made up of those who had increasing difficulty with retrieving memories, which the study said can start to arise about five to eight years before dementia. People in these two groups were able to remember items when they are given clues.
In the final two groups, people were not able to remember all the items even after being given clues. That stage of memory and cognition problems can precede dementia by just one to three years, according to the study.
Among the participants of the study, here's how the grouping broke down:
- 47% were in the first group, with no memory issues
- 35% were in the second group, and another 13% were in the third
- 5% were in either of the final two groups
Of the nearly 1,000 people who were included in the study, just under a quarter (234) did develop some sort of cognitive impairment, the study found.
After adjusting for age, sex, education and a gene that impacts a person's risk of getting Alzheimer's disease, those who fell in the second or third groups were twice as likely to develop some form of cognitive impairment, the study found; those in the final two groups were said to be three and four times as likely to develop problems.
Researchers behind the study estimated that after about 10 years, nearly three-quarters (72%) of those in the final two groups would have developed memory or cognitive issues. That compares to about 57% in the third group, 35% in the second group and 21% in the first group, according to the study.
By separating the participants into groups (which the authors of the study called the SOMI system, for Stages of Objective Memory Impairment), it can help "identify people most likely to develop cognitive impairment,” said Grober.
“Detecting cognitive impairment at its earliest stages is beneficial to researchers investigating treatments. It also could benefit those people who are found to be at increased risk by consulting with their physician and implementing interventions to promote healthy brain aging," she said.
