Mild cognitive impairment among older adults in outpatient clinics: Awareness and knowledge needs survey

Hong Wang; Jiao Li; Xia-Fen Bai; Fan Tian; Ao-Feng Xu; Lei Huang; Meng Wang; Yuan Yang

doi:10.1016/j.exger.2025.112834

Experimental Gerontology (Oct 2025)

Mild cognitive impairment among older adults in outpatient clinics: Awareness and knowledge needs survey

Hong Wang,
Jiao Li,
Xia-Fen Bai,
Fan Tian,
Ao-Feng Xu,
Lei Huang,
Meng Wang,
Yuan Yang

Affiliations

Hong Wang: Special Medical Service Department Section one four, The ninth medical center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100101, China
Jiao Li: Special Medical Service Department Section one four, The ninth medical center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100101, China
Xia-Fen Bai: Special Medical Service Department Section one four, The ninth medical center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100101, China
Fan Tian: Special Medical Service Department Section one four, The ninth medical center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100101, China
Ao-Feng Xu: Special Medical Service Department Section one four, The ninth medical center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100101, China
Lei Huang: Special Medical Service Department Section one four, The ninth medical center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100101, China
Meng Wang: Orthopedics department, The ninth medical center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100101, China; Correspondence to: M. Wang, Orthopedics department, The ninth medical center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 9, Anxiang Beili, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China.
Yuan Yang: Special Medical Service Department Section one four, The ninth medical center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100101, China; Correspondence to: Y. Yang, Special Medical Service Department Section one four, The ninth medical center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 9, Anxiang Beili, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2025.112834
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 209
p. 112834

Abstract

Read online

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the current awareness and knowledge requirements related to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among older adults in hospital outpatient departments, serving as a reference for designing cognitive health intervention strategies tailored to older adults. Methods: A custom-designed questionnaire was administered to survey 132 older adults attending outpatient clinics. Results: The MCI symptom awareness score among older adults in outpatient clinics was 7.45 ± 3.58 points. The average correct identification rate for MCI cases was 55.1 %, while the misclassification rate for non-MCI cases reached 38.8 %. Among participants, 38.6 % would be unwilling to disclose an MCI/dementia diagnosis if they or a family member were affected, and 25.0 % believed that older adults with MCI/dementia would face social contempt. The most preferred source for cognitive impairment prevention methods was hospital consultations (92.4 %), followed by television, radio, newspapers, the internet, and other media channels (57.6 %), and outpatient clinic or community health lectures (56.8 %). Participants sought information primarily on MCI symptoms (64.4 %), etiology, and risk factors (60.6 %), among other topics. Conclusion: Approximately 50 % of older adults in outpatient clinics accurately identified MCI symptoms; however, misconceptions and misjudgments remained. Some older adults were reluctant to disclose their condition. Hospital consultations were the preferred source for obtaining cognitive impairment prevention methods. Enhancing public education on cognitive impairment is essential to help older adults accurately recognize MCI symptoms, seek early screening, and adopt preventive measures, thereby mitigating disease progression and minimizing its impact on their quality of life.

Published in Experimental Gerontology

ISSN: 1873-6815 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine; Science: Biology (General)
Website: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/experimental-gerontology

About the journal

Abstract

Keywords