Challenges reported by primary care physicians in diagnosing MCI U.S. 2021

In 2021, around 72 percent of primary care physicians in the United States stated that difficulty in differentiating mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from normal aging is a challenge to diagnosing MCI. This statistic illustrates the challenges reported by primary care physicians in diagnosing mild cognitive impairment in the United States as of 2021.

Challenges reported by primary care physicians in diagnosing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the United States as of 2021

Characteristic	Percentage of physicians
Difficulty in differentiating MCI from normal aging	72%
Difficulty in interpreting patient reports of daily functioning	51%
Lack of sufficient expertise in the areas of cognitive function	47%
Lack of sufficient expertise in performing cognitive assessments	47%
Difficulty in interpreting complex patient medical histories	46%
Dissociation of symptoms from difficulties in daily life	44%
Lack of normative data, especially in diverse populations	44%
Patient lack of concern regarding cognitive symptoms	35%
Lack of urgency with high rates of benign prognosis	30%
High rates of reversion to normal cognitive functioning	16%
Other challenges	9%
There are no challenges	1%

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Release date

March 2022

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

November 1 to 22, 2021

Number of respondents

801 respondents

Age group

18 years and older

Special properties

Primary care physicians (M.D. or D.O.)

Method of interview

Telephone interviews and online survey

Supplementary notes

"Physicians had to have been in practice for at least two years and spend at least 50 percent of their time in direct patient care, with at least 10% of their patients being age 60 or older."

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