Recognition and treatment of mild cognitive impairment in Serbian general practice

Introduction/Objective. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a state of progressive cognitive decline, rarely recognized by general practitioners (GPs), which is a reason of late treatment and fast progression towards more serious conditions. The main obstacles for the timely treatment of MCI are lack of diagnostic protocols and clinical guidelines as well as lack of knowledge and disbelief in the pharmacological therapeutic possibilities. The aim of this investigation was to assess level of recognition of MCI symptoms by GPs, and to estimate their perception of distinct risk factors significance for MCI development. Methods. Participants of the “Days of General Medicine” Conference (Serbia, March 2018), n = 340, completed 12 items questionnaire about recognition and treatment of the MCI patients. We have used descriptive statistics, χ2, Mann–Whitney U tests, binary logistic regression analysis for results presentation, sub-groups comparison, to assess predictors of drug therapy selection, respectively. Results. Study showed GPs recognize diabetes as most important factor for MCI, then hypercholesterolemia, smoking and sedentary behavior, while hypertension and obesity are perceived as less important. Those GPs who estimated diabetes and hypercholesterolemia as more important for all patients are significantly more prone to prescribe symptomatic therapy (pentoxifylline and vinpocetine), p < 0.05 according to χ2 test. Logistic regression analysis regarding therapy predictions showed that years of GP experience is the most important predictor of drug therapy selection (p < 0.01). Conclusion. Results of this investigation pointed a need for MCI education for young physicians, in order to improve diagnosis and treatment of these patients.