The use of outpatient support services: Differences between people with mild cognitive impairment and people with mild to moderate dementia.

Background: Little is known about the utilization of outpatient support services by people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the use of support services by people with MCI compared to people with mild to moderate dementia.

Methods: The data basis is the multicenter, prospective register study 'Digital Dementia Register Bavaria - digiDEM Bayern'. The sample consists of 913 people with cognitive impairment, including 389 with MCI and 524 with mild to moderate dementia. Classification into 'MCI' and 'mild to moderate dementia' is based on the Mini-Mental State Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The use of support services was surveyed using the Dementia Assessment of Service Needs. Fisher's exact test and multiple linear regression were conducted to analyze for group differences.

Results: Four out of thirteen support services are used less frequently by people with MCI than by people with mild to moderate dementia: 'Outpatient care' ( < 0.001, φ = -0.199), 'Acquisition of aids' ( = 0.004, φ = -0.096), 'Adult daycare' ( < 0.001, φ = -0.290), and 'Respite care' ( = 0.029, φ = -0.095). Even the overall utilization rate is lower for people with MCI (b = -0.18,  = 0.027), although other factors such as a care level (b = 1.01,  < 0.001) are more strongly related.

Conclusions: There are differences in utilization between people with MCI and people with mild to moderate dementia, but these are small. Therefore, access to support services should be provided at the first signs of cognitive impairment.