Motoric Cognitive Risk syndrome (MCR), which combines Subjective Cognitive Complaint (SCC) and slow gait speed in individuals free of dementia and gait disability, is associated with cardiovascular risk factors and diseases as well as incident cognitive impairment. Little information on MCR exists in the Canadian population. This study aims to examine these associations in community-dwelling elderly people living in Quebec, which is a Canadian province.
Data was collected from the"Nutrition as a determinant of successful aging: The Quebec longitudinal study" (NuAge), which is a Quebec population-based observational cohort study with 3 years of follow-up. A subset of 1113 participants (age 73.8 ± 4.1 and 51.9% female; 63.5% of the initial NuAge sample) was selected. MCR, cardiovascular risk factors and disease were recorded at baseline. Incident cognitive impairment was considered if the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) score was ≤79/100 at subsequent annual visits.
The prevalence of MCR was 4.2% at baseline and was significantly associated with diabetes (P < 0.032), cerebrovascular disease (P < 0.043) and incident cognitive impairment (P ≤ 0.001). The overall incidence of cognitive impairment during the 3-year follow-up period was 4.6%. A greater decrease of the 3MS score was observed in participants with MCR compared to those without MCR, at each annual assessment (P ≤ 0.001).
MCR was associated with diabetes and cerebrovascular diseases at baseline, and incident cognitive impairment in NuAge study participants.