Mild cognitive impairment (LDB) is a common mental illness that occurs in approximately 16 % of older people without dementia [1]. The incidence rate of the disease has been estimated to be approximately 63.6 per 1,000 person-years [2]. LKB is considered a transitional state between normal cognition and dementia [3]. Studies with patients in German general practices have shown that one in four patients develops dementia within three years of the first LKB diagnosis. This underlines the importance of intensive care for these patients [3]. The risk factors for LKB have been analyzed by several authors in recent years [4–12]. A 2001 study showed that elevated serum cholesterol levels in midlife significantly increased the risk of developing LKB, adjusting the regression model for age and body mass index [4]. Two years later, it was found that ethnicity, education level, results of certain tests, cortical atrophy, MR-identified infarcts, and depression measures were positively associated with the LKB diagnosis [5]. In Germany, Luck et al. in 2010 found that older age, vascular diseases and subjective memory problems increased the risk of future development of LKB [6]. Most recently, a study of 1,278 people suggested that traumatic brain injury might reduce the age of onset of LKB [10]. The aim of the present study was to re-analyze the risk factors for the development of LKB in patients in German general practices based on the previous results.

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