Cognitive profile of mild behavioral impairment in Brain Health Registry participants

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Dementia assessment includes cognitive and behavioral testing with informant validation. Conventional testing is resource intensive, with uneven access. Online unsupervised assessments could reduce barriers to risk assessment. We interrogated the relationship between informant-rated behavioral changes and neuropsychological test performance in older adults in the Brain Health Registry. METHODS: Participants completed online unsupervised cognitive tests, and informants completed the Mild Behavioral Impairment Checklist via a Study Partner portal. Cognitive performance was evaluated in MBI+/- individuals, as was the association between cognitive scores and MBI symptom severity. RESULTS: Mean age of the 499 participants was 67, 61% of which were female. MBI+ participants had lower working memory and executive function test scores. Lower cognitive test scores associated with greater MBI burden. DISCUSSION: Our findings support the feasibility of remote, informant-reported behavioral assessment and support its validity by demonstrating a relationship to cognitive test performance using online unsupervised assessments for dementia risk assessment.

Health‐related quality of life and mild behavioral impairment in older adults without dementia

“…The prevalence of MBI in a Spanish clinic was estimated to be 5.8% in people with SCD 29 and 14.2% in subjects with MCI, 30 with cutoff points of 8.5% and 6.5% for differentiating people with and without MBI, respectively. The prevalence was 37% in SCD and 54% in MCI using a general cut‐off point of 7 from a Canada clinic cohort, 31 50% with a cut‐off point of 6.5 in MCI from a Iran clinic cohort, 32 and 6.2% in a US community‐dwelling older adults cohort 33 . For those without cognitive impairment, the prevalence was determined to be 10% in an UK community sample and 7.3% in a sample from a Canada clinic, 34,35 both with cut‐off points of 8.5.…”

“…The prevalence was 37% in SCD and 54% in MCI using a general cut-off point of 7 from a Canada clinic cohort, 31 50% with a cut-off point of 6.5 in MCI from a Iran clinic cohort, 32 and 6.2% in a US community-dwelling older adults cohort. 33 For those without cognitive impairment, the prevalence was determined to be 10% in an UK community sample and 7.3% in a sample from a Canada clinic, 34,35 both with cut-off points of the informant-and self-rated versions of the MBI-C using a previously suggested cut-off score of 8.5. 36 The prevalence of MBI in the community was 10.4%.…”

BPSD reconsidered: diagnostic considerations to preserve personhood in persons with dementia

“…Yet, neuropsychiatric symptoms can occur at any stage and in any type of dementia, even in possible pre-dementia stages such as MCI which may represent an early indication of dementia (Godin and Theou, 2020). When neuropsychiatric changes or BPSD-like symptoms emerge in preclinical stages, they are termed "Mild Behavioral Impairment" (MBI) (Godin and Theou, 2020) and typically represent a longstanding change in behavior (Kassam et al, 2022). Persons with MCI plus MBI have a great chance of developing dementia (Mallo et al, 2018).…”