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Mild cognitive impairment: prevalence, prognosis, aetiology, and treatment
DeCarli C.. The Lancet. Neurology, 2003-01-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Plain-language summary
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a recently described syndrome that is currently thought of as a transition phase between healthy cognitive ageing and dementia. Although this notion seems to be reasonable, the general nature of the term MCI--including its many definitions--makes accurate accounting of the prevalence, prognosis, and potential benefit from treatment somewhat difficult. The differences in cognitive profile and clinical progression among individuals with MCI are generally recognised. However, recent evidence also suggests that the aetiological heterogeneity among individuals with MCI could be greater than previously reported. For example, cerebrovascular disease seems to be underestimated as a potential cause of MCI. In this review, I attempt to recognise workable definitions of MCI to discuss the prevalence, pathophysiology, prognosis, and possibilities for treatment of this disorder.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
DeCarli, C. (2003). Mild cognitive impairment: prevalence, prognosis, aetiology, and treatment. The Lancet. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(03)00262-x
Vancouver
DeCarli C. Mild cognitive impairment: prevalence, prognosis, aetiology, and treatment. The Lancet. Neurology. 2003. doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(03)00262-x. PMID: 12849297.
BibTeX
@article{decarli2003-12849297,
author = {DeCarli, C.},
title = {{Mild cognitive impairment: prevalence, prognosis, aetiology, and treatment}},
journal = {The Lancet. Neurology},
year = {2003},
doi = {10.1016/s1474-4422(03)00262-x},
pmid = {12849297},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(03)00262-x}
}
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Key findings
- However, recent evidence also suggests that the aetiological heterogeneity among individuals with MCI could be greater than previously reported.
Why it matters
This 2003 review argues that "mild cognitive impairment" is a loose label with many definitions, so counts of how common it is, how often it worsens, and whether treatment helps are "somewhat difficult" to pin down. It also suggests that people with MCI may differ more in the underlying cause than earlier reports said, and that disease of the brain's blood vessels "seems to be underestimated" as one possible cause. It is a review with no new data and gives no figures, so read it as a caution about the MCI label rather than as evidence about any one person's outlook.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 52/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (The Lancet. Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | The Lancet Neurology: journal h-index 457 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2003 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 575 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 23.0 citations a year over 25 year(s) since 2003 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 12.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 36 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 60 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Charles S DeCarli: h-index 150 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of California, Davis: institution h-index 1,257 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter 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 12849297) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 52 / 100 | — |
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