Villarejo Galende, AlbertoBermejo Pareja, FélixTrincado, RocíoOlazarán Rodríguez, Francisco JavierBenito León, JuliánRodríguez, CiliaMedrano, María JoséBoix, RaquelVega, Saturio2025-02-032025-02-032011-01-12Villarejo, A., Bermejo-Pareja, F., Trincado, R., Olazarán, J., Benito-León, J., Rodríguez, C., Medrano, M. J., Boix, R., & Vega, S. (2011). Memory impairment in a simple recall task increases mortality at 10 years in non-demented elderly. International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 26(2), 182–187. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.25120885-623010.1002/gps.2512https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/117610Abstract Objective To evaluate whether memory impairment detected in the three-word delayed recall task of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) increases the risk of mortality. Methods The NEDICES (Neurological Diseases in Central Spain) cohort study, is a population census-based study, aimed at detecting age-associated neurological diseases in people aged 65 and over, living in one rural and two urban communities in central Spain. Participants with dementia or without MMSE evaluation at baseline were excluded. Mortality was evaluated 10.67 years after enrolment. Cox's proportional hazards regression models were used to evaluate the hazard of death according to performance in the three-word delayed recall task included in the MMSE (score 0–3), adjusting for potential covariates (sex, age, level of education, and comorbidity). Survival was estimated using Kaplan–Meier method. Results The final study population comprised 3778 non-demented elderly subjects. After adjusting for confounding covariates, mortality was 52% greater in persons with the lowest memory score (0) vs. persons with the highest score (3). Hazard ratios (HR) showed a tendency to an increase in mortality from the highest to the lowest memory score, which was statistically significant for the groups with none (HR = 1.52; CI = 1.27–1.80) or one (HR = 1.24; CI = 1.04–1.48) word recall. Older age, male sex, and comorbidity were also associated with mortality, but level of education was not. Conclusions Memory impairment in the three-word delayed free recall, a very simple task used by physicians worldwide, increases the risk of mortality at 10 years in non-demented elderly.engjournal article1099-1166https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.2512https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/gps.2512restricted access616.892.2memorydementiamortalityepidemiologyCiencias Biomédicas32 Ciencias Médicas