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Mild cognitive impairment: a concept in evolution
Petersen RC, Caracciolo B, Brayne C, Gauthier S, Jelic V, Fratiglioni L.. Journal of internal medicine, 2014-03-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The construct of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has evolved over the past 10 years since the publication of the new MCI definition at the Key Symposium in 2003, but the core criteria have remained unchanged. The construct has been extensively used worldwide, both in clinical and in research settings, to define the grey area between intact cognitive functioning and clinical dementia. A rich set of data regarding occurrence, risk factors and progression of MCI has been generated. Discrepancies between studies can be mostly explained by differences in the operationalization of the criteria, differences in the setting where the criteria have been applied, selection of subjects and length of follow-up in longitudinal studies. Major controversial issues that remain to be further explored are algorithmic versus clinical classification, reliability of clinical judgment, temporal changes in cognitive performances and predictivity of putative biomarkers. Some suggestions to further develop the MCI construct include the tailoring of the clinical criteria to specific populations and to specific contexts. The addition of biomarkers to the clinical phenotypes is promising but requires deeper investigation. Translation of findings from the specialty clinic to the population setting, although challenging, will enhance uniformity of outcomes. More longitudinal population-based studies on cognitive ageing and MCI need to be performed to clarify all these issues.
Key findings
- Major controversial issues that remain to be further explored are algorithmic versus clinical classification, reliability of clinical judgment, temporal changes in cognitive performances and predictivity of putative biomarkers.
Why it matters
This review looks back on mild cognitive impairment, the "grey area between intact cognitive functioning and clinical dementia," a decade after its 2003 definition, and notes that the core criteria have not changed. It argues that conflicting results between MCI studies are mostly explained by how the criteria are applied, in what setting, to which people and for how long. It lists classification, the reliability of clinical judgement and the predictive value of biomarkers as still unresolved. It reports no new data and no treatment, cure or prevention.
Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 66/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of internal medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Internal Medicine: journal h-index 237 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| 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 | 1 / 5 | 2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 1,691 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 120.8 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 55.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 58 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 535 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Laura Fratiglioni: h-index 133 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Cambridge: institution h-index 1,973 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 4 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24605806) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 66 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1111/joim.12190
- PubMed: 24605806
- Original source →
- Free full text: Journal of Internal Medicine →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Petersen, R. C., Caracciolo, B., Brayne, C., Gauthier, S., Jelic, V., & Fratiglioni, L. (2014). Mild cognitive impairment: a concept in evolution. Journal of internal medicine. https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.12190
Vancouver
Petersen RC, Caracciolo B, Brayne C, Gauthier S, Jelic V, Fratiglioni L. Mild cognitive impairment: a concept in evolution. Journal of internal medicine. 2014. doi:10.1111/joim.12190. PMID: 24605806.
BibTeX
@article{petersen2014-24605806,
author = {Petersen, R. C. and Caracciolo, B. and Brayne, C. and Gauthier, S. and Jelic, V. and Fratiglioni, L.},
title = {{Mild cognitive impairment: a concept in evolution}},
journal = {Journal of internal medicine},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1111/joim.12190},
pmid = {24605806},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.12190}
}
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