Using sex-specific scores on memory tests may change who gets diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by 20 percent, with possibly more women and fewer men being diagnosed, according to a study published in the October 9, 2019, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Mild cognitive impairment, a precursor to dementia, is when people have problems with memory and thinking skills.
Because women typically score higher than men on tests of verbal memory, they may not be diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment as early as men are, even when they have the same levels of Alzheimer’s disease-related brain changes, such as the…
