Non-Cognitive
Behavioral Symptoms in Vascular Cognitive Impairment
Kenneth
Rockwood, Department of Medicine, Department of Medicine,
Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
Kenneth Rockwood, Sandra Black, Andrew
Kertesz, Howard Feldman on behalf of the Consortium to Investigate
Vascular Impairment of Cognition.
Vascular Cognitive Impairment (VCI) is a term
used to refer to a collection of syndromes in which cognitive
impairment is seen in relation to cardio- and cerebro-vascular
disease. The characterization of VCI includes three main clinical
subtypes (Vascular Cognitive Impairment No Dementia, Vascular
Dementia, and Mixed Alzheimer disease/VaD). Here we report
the types and patterns of non-cognitive behavioural symptoms
in patients with VCI and its subtypes.
The data come from the Consortium to Investigate
Vascular Cognition, a 3-year longitudinal study of VCI based
in 9 Canadian memory clinics. Of 1347 patients, 323 met the
criteria for VCI. The most common behavioural symptom reported
was decreased initiative (61%), followed by decreased mood
(33%). Using an index of 20 symptoms, the mean index value
for VCI was 4.3±2.5, compared with 3.5±2.2 in patients diagnosed
with probable AD. The highest index value was seen in those
with VaD (4.65±2.7) and the lowest in those with Vascular
CIND. In a multivariable model that included duration illness,
MMSE, age, sex, education, VCI subtype, age and duration were
most often associated with non-cognitive symptoms.
Non cognitive behavioural symptoms are
common in VCI, commonly reflect frontal/subcortical impairment,
and are associated with duration of illness.
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