Cognition in Older Adult MS Patients Compared to Healthy Controls and aMCI Patients

Abstract

Very little research has been conducted with older adult samples of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). In particular, it is not clear whether the cognitive profile of older adult MS patients follows the same patterns observed in younger MS patients. At the level of an individual patient, possible etiologies for changes in cognition include worsening MS, normal consequences of aging, the development of a comorbid condition, or an interaction of these possibilities. This study compared the performance of MS (n = 64), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI; n = 58), and healthy control (n = 70) samples over the age of 60 on a neuropsychological testing battery. Older adult MS patients consistently performed better than aMCI patients and worse than controls. However, secondary progressive MS patients did not significantly differ from aMCI patients on any cognitive measure. Criteria for cognitive impairment were met by 20% of the MS sample. MS patients were most frequently impaired on tasks of processing speed and memory. Significant predictors of cognitive impairment were physical disability and disease duration. Overall, the cognitive profile of older adult MS patients is largely consistent with that of younger MS patients. However, differences in impairment between secondary progressive and primary progressive patients were not as distinct as previously reported in the literature. Additionally, disease duration was more strongly associated with cognitive impairment than previously thought.