Coded Prevalence of Mild Cognitive Impairment in General and Neuropsychiatrists Practices in Germany Between 2007 and 2017

Abstract

Background:

The diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is becoming increasingly important for the medical treatment of dementia.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the coded prevalence of MCI changed in the period from 2007 to 2017 compared to dementia diagnoses.

Methods:

This was a retrospective evaluation of diagnostic data from 432 general practitioner (GP) practices and 53 neuropsychiatrist (NP) practices in Germany based on the Disease Analyzer database (IQVIA). The frequencies with which MCI and dementia were diagnosed in these practices were determined. The frequency with which dementia was diagnosed was included to determine whether the change in the frequency of MCI diagnoses was due to the increase in dementia prevalence.

Results:

It was found that the number of GP practices with patients receiving MCI diagnoses increased from 16% to 46%, while the number of NP practices with patients receiving MCI diagnoses increased from 55% to 75%. Moreover, the study found an increase in the coded prevalence of MCI from 0.4 to 1.9 patients/GP practice and from 6.5 to 11.1 patients/NP practice were observed.

Conclusions:

A growing number of GPs and NPs code MCI with increasing frequency. However, the coding frequency of MCI in 2017 corresponded to less than 10% of its true prevalence. A sharp increase in MCI diagnoses can be expected, along with the establishment of preventive and disease-modifying dementia strategies.