Association between intrinsic capacity and dementia risk in older Mexicans

INTRODUCTION: Healthy aging reflects the maintenance of intrinsic capacity (IC) across five physical and mental domains. Although IC decline has been linked to frailty and mortality, evidence regarding its predictive value for dementia remains limited, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. METHODS: Data from 7263 adults aged ≥60 years without baseline dementia from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (2012-2015) were analyzed. IC was assessed across vitality, locomotor, sensory, cognitive, and psychological domains. Dementia was defined as impairment in two or more cognitive domains plus one or more limitation in instrumental activities of daily living. RESULTS: The mean age of the study population was 68.92 ± 6.8 years and 55.4% were women. Dementia incidence over 3 years was 4.15%. Higher baseline IC scores were associated with lower odds of incident dementia (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.41-0.94). DISCUSSION: Our findings support the role of IC as an early, multidimensional marker of cognitive vulnerability.