This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

67/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 67 out of 100. Mild cognitive impairment

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Background The identification of subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) at high risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is important for prognosis and early intervention. The APOE-ε4 allele is the strongest known genetic risk factor for AD. The authors performed a meta-analysis to establish the predictive accuracy of the APOE-ε4 allele for progression from MCI to AD-type dementia. Methods The authors included 35 prospective cohort studies of subjects with MCI, including 6095 subjects, of whom 1236 progressed to AD-type dementia after 2.9 years of follow-up. Pooled estimates of the OR, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV), and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR-) were obtained using random-effects models. Results The OR for subjects with MCI who are carriers of APOE-ε4 allele to progress to AD-type dementia was 2.29 (95% CI 1.88 to 2.80), the sensitivity was 0.53 (95% CI 0.46 to 0.61), the specificity was 0.67 (95% CI 0.62 to 0.71), the PPV was 0.57 (95% CI 0.48 to 0.66), the NPV was 0.75 (95% CI 0.70 to 0.80), the LR+ was 1.60 (95% CI 1.48 to 1.72), and the LR- was 0.75 (95% CI 0.67 to 0.82). Meta-regression showed that sensitivity, specificity and NPV were dependent on age, APOE-ε4 allele background prevalence or follow-up length. Conclusions The APOE-ε4 allele is associated with a moderately increased risk for progression from MCI to AD-type dementia. The low sensitivity and PPV makes genotyping of limited value for predicting AD-type dementia in clinical practice. For trials aiming to prevent progression from MCI to AD-type dementia, APOE genotyping may be useful in selecting subjects with a higher risk for progression to AD-type dementia.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Elias-Sonnenschein, L. S., Viechtbauer, W., Ramakers, I. H., Verhey, F. R., & Visser, P. J. (2011). Predictive value of APOE-ε4 allele for progression from MCI to AD-type dementia: a meta-analysis. Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.2010.231555

Vancouver

Elias-Sonnenschein LS, Viechtbauer W, Ramakers IH, Verhey FR, Visser PJ. Predictive value of APOE-ε4 allele for progression from MCI to AD-type dementia: a meta-analysis. Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry. 2011. doi:10.1136/jnnp.2010.231555. PMID: 21493755.

BibTeX

@article{eliassonnenschein2011-21493755,
  author  = {Elias-Sonnenschein, L. S. and Viechtbauer, W. and Ramakers, I. H. and Verhey, F. R. and Visser, P. J.},
  title   = {{Predictive value of APOE-ε4 allele for progression from MCI to AD-type dementia: a meta-analysis}},
  journal = {Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry},
  year    = {2011},
  doi     = {10.1136/jnnp.2010.231555},
  pmid    = {21493755},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.2010.231555}
}

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.

Key findings

Results The OR for subjects with MCI who are carriers of APOE-ε4 allele to progress to AD-type dementia was 2.29 (95% CI 1.88 to 2.80), the sensitivity was 0.53 (95% CI 0.46 to 0.61), the specificity was 0.67 (95% CI 0.62 to 0.71), the PPV was 0.57 (95% CI 0.48 to 0.66), the NPV was 0.75 (95% CI 0.70 to 0.80), the LR+ was 1.60 (95% CI 1.48 to 1.72), and the LR- was 0.75 (95% CI 0.67 to 0.82).
Meta-regression showed that sensitivity, specificity and NPV were dependent on age, APOE-ε4 allele background prevalence or follow-up length.
Conclusions The APOE-ε4 allele is associated with a moderately increased risk for progression from MCI to AD-type dementia.
For trials aiming to prevent progression from MCI to AD-type dementia, APOE genotyping may be useful in selecting subjects with a higher risk for progression to AD-type dementia.

Why it matters

This meta-analysis of 35 studies found that carrying the APOE-ε4 allele is associated with a moderately increased risk of progressing from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's-type dementia, with an odds ratio of 2.29. However, the sensitivity and specificity were modest, so the allele alone is not a precise predictor.

Study details

Study designmeta-analysis
Participants35
Evidence strengthHigh

How this study scored 67/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry: journal h-index 336 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	12 / 12	A meta-analysis pooling many studies
Strength of evidence	5 / 5	Rated “high” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	2011 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	1 / 4	35 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)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	A review of other studies — randomization is not credited here
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 154 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	9.1 citations a year over 17 year(s) since 2011
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 8.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	3 / 6	Cited by 13 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 23 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Pieter Jelle Visser: h-index 90 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam: institution h-index 1,014 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 21493755)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	67 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 21.

Later studies that cite this one

13 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.

Related studies in Mild cognitive impairment

Also tagged “precursor”

1,337 studies in the library carry the topic tag “precursor”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,337 tagged studies.

Studies sharing this one's topic tags

Similar studies

More on Mild cognitive impairment

See all studies in Mild cognitive impairment →