Home › Research › How common it is
Mild cognitive impairment: clinical characterization and outcome
Petersen RC, Smith GE, Waring SC, Ivnik RJ, Tangalos EG, Kokmen E.. Archives of neurology, 1999-03-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Subjects with a mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have a memory impairment beyond that expected for age and education yet are not demented. These subjects are becoming the focus of many prediction studies and early intervention trials. Objective To characterize clinically subjects with MCI cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Design A prospective, longitudinal inception cohort. Setting General community clinic. Participants A sample of 76 consecutively evaluated subjects with MCI were compared with 234 healthy control subjects and 106 patients with mild Alzheimer disease (AD), all from a community setting as part of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Center/Alzheimer's Disease Patient Registry, Rochester, Minn. Main outcome measures The 3 groups of individuals were compared on demographic factors and measures of cognitive function including the Mini-Mental State Examination, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised, Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, Dementia Rating Scale, Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test, and Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Clinical classifications of dementia and AD were determined according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Revised Third Edition and the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria, respectively. Results The primary distinction between control subjects and subjects with MCI was in the area of memory, while other cognitive functions were comparable. However, when the subjects with MCI were compared with the patients with very mild AD, memory performance was similar, but patients with AD were more impaired in other cognitive domains as well. Longitudinal performance demonstrated that the subjects with MCI declined at a rate greater than that of the controls but less rapidly than the patients with mild AD. Conclusions Patients who meet the criteria for MCI can be differentiated from healthy control subjects and those with very mild AD. They appear to constitute a clinical entity that can be characterized for treatment interventions.
Key findings
- Participants A sample of 76 consecutively evaluated subjects with MCI were compared with 234 healthy control subjects and 106 patients with mild Alzheimer disease (AD), all from a community setting as part of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Center/Alzheimer's Disease Patient Registry, Rochester, Minn.
- Results The primary distinction between control subjects and subjects with MCI was in the area of memory, while other cognitive functions were comparable.
- However, when the subjects with MCI were compared with the patients with very mild AD, memory performance was similar, but patients with AD were more impaired in other cognitive domains as well.
- Longitudinal performance demonstrated that the subjects with MCI declined at a rate greater than that of the controls but less rapidly than the patients with mild AD.
Why it matters
In 76 people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) at one Mayo Clinic registry, memory was the main difference from 234 healthy people; their other thinking skills were comparable. Their memory was similar to that of 106 people with mild Alzheimer's disease, but the Alzheimer's group was also worse in other areas. Over time the MCI group declined faster than healthy people but more slowly than the Alzheimer's group. This is an observational study: it gives no conversion rate and tests no treatment.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Alzheimer's in numbers →
Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants106
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 70/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. 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 (Archives of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Archives of Neurology: journal h-index 353 (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 | 1999 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 106 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 | 7 / 7 | Cited 8,986 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 309.9 citations a year over 29 year(s) since 1999 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 60.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 6 / 6 | Cited by 558 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 937 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Emre Kokmen: h-index 48 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Mayo Clinic: institution h-index 1,606 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 10190820) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 70 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
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., Smith, G. E., Waring, S. C., Ivnik, R. J., Tangalos, E. G., & Kokmen, E. (1999). Mild cognitive impairment: clinical characterization and outcome. Archives of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.56.3.303
Vancouver
Petersen RC, Smith GE, Waring SC, Ivnik RJ, Tangalos EG, Kokmen E. Mild cognitive impairment: clinical characterization and outcome. Archives of neurology. 1999. doi:10.1001/archneur.56.3.303. PMID: 10190820.
BibTeX
@article{petersen1999-10190820,
author = {Petersen, R. C. and Smith, G. E. and Waring, S. C. and Ivnik, R. J. and Tangalos, E. G. and Kokmen, E.},
title = {{Mild cognitive impairment: clinical characterization and outcome}},
journal = {Archives of neurology},
year = {1999},
doi = {10.1001/archneur.56.3.303},
pmid = {10190820},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.56.3.303}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Later studies that cite this one
558 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.