Mild cognitive impairment among rural-dwelling older adults in China: A community-based study

Background: Epidemiological studies of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and subtypes of MCI have rarely focused on rural residents in China.

Methods: This population-based study included 5068 participants (age ≥60 years) who were living in rural communities. We defined MCI, amnestic MCI (aMCI), and non-amnestic MCI (naMCI) following the Petersen's criteria that integrated neuropsychological assessments with in-person clinical evaluations.

Results: The overall prevalence of MCI, aMCI, and naMCI was 26.48%, 22.30%, and 4.18%, respectively. The prevalence of MCI increased with age. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of MCI was 0.71 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.61 to 0.82) for primary school (vs. illiteracy), 0.30 (0.24 to 0.39) for middle school or above, 1.35 (1.09 to 1.67) for being farmers, 0.65 (0.54 to 0.78) for alcohol consumption, 1.43 (1.20 to 1.70) for stroke history, and 1.14 (0.95 to 1.36) for any apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele (vs ε3/ε3).

Conclusions: MCI affects over one-fourth of rural older adults in China. Overall MCI was associated with demographic factors, non-alcohol consumption, and stroke, but not with APOE genotype and cardiometabolic factors.