Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older, Rural Dwelling Adults

 
   Lead Investigator:    Meghan Mattos
   Institution      :    University of Pittsburgh
   E-Mail           :    mkm65@pitt.edu
   Proposal ID      :    465


   Publications:


1  Mattos M
   Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Rural Dwelling Adults
   41883   Grant  National Institute of Health (NIH)   F31 NR015188   , 

   FUNDED



2  Mattos M, Snitz B, Lingler JH, Burke LE, Novosel L, Sereika SM
   Older Appalachian Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment
   2016   Abstract  National Rural Health Association Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN , 

   ACCEPTED



3  Mattos M, Snitz BE, Lingler JH, Burke LE, Novosel LM, Sereika SM
   Older Rural- and Urban-Dwelling Appalachian Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment
   Journal Article  J Rural Health,33:208-216,2017,PMC5303187

   PUBLISHED





   Proposal Description:
   Although more than 20 of the US population live in rural areas, this is an underserved and understudied population. Rural adults suffer disproportionately poorer health and worse health outcomes compared with the rest of the nation. Considerably less research has focused on cognitive health outcomes and their risk factors among older, rural dwelling adults. Among these cognitive changes is mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition that affects as many as 19 of older US adults and is widely recognized as a risk state for Alzheimer???s Disease and other dementias. As such, MCI represents a key target for interventions aimed at the secondary prevention of dementia. We have reason to believe that older, rural adults are especially vulnerable to MCI, based on known higher rates of factors associated with the syndrome. Complicating matters, limited resources and access to care may lead to delayed detection of cognitive changes, making rural adults an especially vulnerable group that is possibly deprived of opportunities for screening and early intervention in the disease process. Based on known rural health disparities, especially later diagnosis of chronic diseases, it is reasonable to hypothesize that MCI may present later in its course in rural adults, but studies describing older, rural dwelling adults with MCI are absent from the literature. The primary purpose of this study is to determine if rural residence is a unique risk factor for delayed detection of MCI. This novel study will examine MCI symptom severity to gain insight into rural cognitive health. The study seeks to advance the science by improving the understanding of MCI in a vulnerable population, which may ultimately direct the development of future health promotion research.