- Researchers say a simple memory test involving cards can help predict cognitive impairment years before symptoms arise.
- Experts say the test would allow for earlier treatment and preventive measures for people at higher risk of developing dementia.
- One expert suggests the test be given to all people over the age of 45.
Researchers say they’ve developed a simple test that can predict the future risk of a person developing cognitive impairment.
In their study published today in the journal Neurology, the scientists say the test only applies to people with no existing cognitive and memory issues.
“There is increasing evidence that some people with no thinking and memory problems may actually have very subtle signs of early cognitive impairment,” said Ellen Grober, Ph.D., a study author and clinical professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, in a statement. “In our study, a sensitive and simple memory test predicted the risk of developing cognitive impairment in people who were otherwise considered to have normal cognition.”
The study’s 969 subjects, who had an average age of 69, were given a simple memory test with follow ups over the next 10 years.
The test included two phases.
First, the researchers asked the participants to look at four cards, with each card having drawings of four items.
The subjects were then asked to identify each item belonging to a particular category. For example, participants were asked to identify a fruit, for which they would answer “grape.”
In the next phase, participants were asked to recall the items to measure their ability to retrieve information. For items they didn’t remember, they were given category cues, which measured memory storage.
Researchers divided the participants into five groups with stages zero through four, based on their test scores, as part of the Stages of Objective Memory Impairment (SOMI) system.
Stage zero (47% of subjects) was for those with no memory problems.
Stages one…
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