Memory impairment among primary care veterans.

Area of Science:

• Geriatrics
• Cognitive Neurology
• Primary Care Medicine

Background:

• Memory impairment is a common cognitive dysfunction in older adults.
• Dementia is often overlooked in primary care, with less focus on memory concerns.
• Older patients' concerns about memory and desire for discussion are understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate memory impairment prevalence in older primary care patients without dementia diagnoses.
• Determine patient concern levels regarding memory impairment.
• Identify patient characteristics associated with memory impairment.

Main Methods:

• Telephone memory assessment using a four-item test for patients 75+ without dementia diagnoses.
• Proxy-reported cognitive decline used for patients unable to complete interviews.
• Random selection of patients with regular primary care physician visits.

Main Results:

• 19.8% of participants showed memory impairment indicative of probable dementia.
• Increased patient concern about memory was associated with higher impairment (AOR: 1.4).
• Desire to discuss memory concerns with a physician correlated with impairment (AOR: 1.4).

Conclusions:

• Memory impairment is prevalent in older primary care patients without diagnosed dementia.
• Patient concerns and desire for discussion are key indicators for cognitive screening.
• Integrating memory concern assessment can improve early detection in primary care.