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Diabetic retinopathy as the primary predictor of mild cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes: Insights from machine learning models
Fatima Zahra Rhmari Tlemçani, Faiçal Aitlahbib, Soukaina Laidi, Najib Al Idrissi, Jehanne Aasfara, Saloua Elamari, Asma Chadli, Imane Motaib. PLoS ONE, 2025-09-26
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a significant and increasingly recognized problem in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study aims to develop a machine-learning model to predict MCI in patients with T2DMThe dataset was obtained from a prospective cohort conducted at the Sheikh Khalifa Ibn Zaid Hospital, Casablanca, Morocco, and was randomly split into three parts. Machine learning models were trained using the training dataset, and their performance was assessed on the test dataset. The unseen data was reserved for final validation. Subsequently, recursive feature elimination was applied with the top two algorithms to identify and retain the most impactful features for predicting MCI. Then, we retrained the models using the selected variables. Finally, the variables most contributing to the prediction of MCI were represented in a Shapley Additive Explanations SHAPE value plot to better understand their contribution and their ranking in MCI prediction.The dataset included 100 patients. Extra Trees classifier was the best-performing model for mild cognitive impairment (Accuracy: 0·9310/AUC: 0·9667/ Recall: 0·9333/ Precision: 0·9333/F1: 0·9333). The most contributing factors to MCI in patients with type 2 diabetes were, respectively, diabetic retinopathy, age, serum LDL cholesterol level, microalbuminuria, HbA1c, and, serum creatinine level. Our findings suggest avenues for early intervention that could prevent the progression of cognitive impairment among patients with type 2 diabetes.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Tlemçani, F. Z. R., Aitlahbib, F., Laidi, S., Idrissi, N. A., Aasfara, J., Elamari, S., et al. (2025). Diabetic retinopathy as the primary predictor of mild cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes: Insights from machine learning models. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0332442
Vancouver
Tlemçani FZR, Aitlahbib F, Laidi S, Idrissi NA, Aasfara J, Elamari S, et al. Diabetic retinopathy as the primary predictor of mild cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes: Insights from machine learning models. PLoS ONE. 2025. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0332442. PMID: 41004471.
BibTeX
@article{tlemcani2025-41004471,
author = {Tlemçani, Fatima Zahra Rhmari and Aitlahbib, Faiçal and Laidi, Soukaina and Idrissi, Najib Al and Aasfara, Jehanne and Elamari, Saloua and Chadli, Asma and Motaib, Imane},
title = {{Diabetic retinopathy as the primary predictor of mild cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes: Insights from machine learning models}},
journal = {PLoS ONE},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0332442},
pmid = {41004471},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0332442}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a significant and increasingly recognized problem in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
- Our findings suggest avenues for early intervention that could prevent the progression of cognitive impairment among patients with type 2 diabetes.
Why it matters
This study developed a machine learning model that identified diabetic retinopathy as the primary predictor of mild cognitive impairment in people with type 2 diabetes. It is about prediction and suggests avenues for early intervention, but does not test whether any intervention prevents Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Study designprospective cohort
- Participants100
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 51/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a prospective cohort study, followed forward from enrollment. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (PLoS ONE) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | PLoS ONE: journal h-index 594 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A prospective cohort study, followed forward from enrollment |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 100 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 3 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Imane Motaib: h-index 5 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique: institution h-index 178 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41004471) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
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Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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