Predictors of Quality of Life among Older People with Mild Cognitive Impairment Attending Urban Primary Care Clinics

ABSTRACT

Objectives

To study the prevalence of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) among older people attending primary care clinics and its predictors of QOL.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted at two primary care clinics in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, recruiting 271 participants by utilizing the universal sampling method. Every patient who attended both the clinics during the study period and met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were approached and briefed about the study. Patients who gave consent were recruited as study participants. Information on sociodemographic, medical condition, and lifestyle behaviors were obtained. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was used to screen for MCI at a score < 23. The World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire was used to evaluate QOL.

Results

Prevalence of MCI was 27.3%. Lower QOL scores were found in the physical (67.3 ± 1.4), psychological (67.3 ± 1.4), social (66.9 ± 1.6) and environmental (71.3 ± 1.3) domains among participants with MCI. Among them, predictors of QOL were depression in the physical domain, age and stroke in the psychological domain, presence of other types of disorders in the social domain and diabetes and stroke in the environmental domain.

Conclusions

MCI was prevalent among study participants and were associated with poorer QOL in all domains of QOL. A better understanding of predictors of QOL in older people with MCI is deemed important.

Clinical implication

Routine cognitive screening at primary care clinics will facilitate early recognition of MCI and facilitates referral to memory clinics for further assessment and treatment.

KEYWORDS:

• Malaysia
• Mild Cognitive Impairment
• MoCA
• Primary care clinics
• quality of life
• WHOQOL-BREF

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the University of Malaya Research Grant [UMRG: RP012-13HTM], for providing funding for this project. Authors would also like to thank the staffs and patients of Klinik Kesihatan Tanglin, Kuala Lumpur, and Klinik Kesihatan Kelana Jaya, Selangor.

Disclosure statements

The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/wcli.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Malaya Research Grant [UMRG: RP012-13HTM].