Abstract

SANCHEZ CONTRERASS, Mónica; MORENO GOMEZ, Germán Alberto  and  GARCIA ORTIZ, Luis Hernando. Cognitive Impairment, Education and Occupation in a Memory Clinic Population. rev.colomb.psiquiatr. [online]. 2010, vol.39, n.2, pp.347-361. ISSN 0034-7450.

Introduction: Socio-demographic and genetic factors have been involved in the development of cognitive impairment and its progression to dementia. Method: The present study evaluates sociodemographic characteristics and the ApoE genotype in individuals older than 55 years with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), attending a memory clinic. Results: 155 individuals (36%) out of the total population who attended the memory clinic in a four-year period met the inclusion criteria. The study population was classified in diagnostic groups according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) and to the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (NICNCDS-ADRDA) criteria. More AD and MCI individuals worked in mainly manual occupations throughout their lifetime compared to cognitively unimpaired individuals (p=0.014). A high percentage of individuals with MCI and of cognitively unimpaired individuals (43%) left their primary occupation or changed it for a mainly manual occupation after their retirement. No other factors associated to the cognitive impairment, including ApoE genotype, were found. Conclusion: These results support a correlation between the primary occupation during lifetime and the development of cognitive impairment in individuals older than 55 years.

Keywords : Cognitive disorders; education; occupation; apolipoproteins E.

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