Prevalence of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in CIND and Its Subtypes: The Cache County Study

Objectives: 1) To report rates of neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in cognitive impairment, no dementia (CIND). 2) To compare the 30-day prevalence of NPS in CIND with that in dementia and cognitively normal individuals. 3) To compare the prevalence of NPS in amnestic MCI (aMCI) with other predementia syndromes. Design: Comparison of prevalence proportions among several defined groups. Setting: Population-based study. Participants: A subsample of the permanent residents of Cache County, Utah, aged 65 years or older in January 1995 (N = 5092) and who had completed clinical assessments and had an informant-completed Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Measurements: Chi-square statistics, tests for trend, and logistic regression models were used to analyze the three objectives listed earlier. Results: The most prevalent NPS in those with CIND were depression (16.9%), irritability (9.8%), nighttime behaviors (7.6%), apathy (6.9%), and anxiety (5.4%). Trend analyses confirmed that the CIND group had NPS prevalence rates that fell between the normal and dementia groups for most NPS. Logistic regression models showed no significant difference between aMCI and other CIND participants in the prevalence of any NPS (lowest p: 0.316). Conclusions: These data confirm the relatively high prevalence of NPS in CIND reported by other studies, especially for affective symptoms. No differences in NPS prevalence were found between aMCI and other types of CIND. (Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2012; 20:416-424)