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Retinal microvascular dysfunction in mild cognitive impairment: Associations with cerebral small vessel disease, plasma biomarkers, and cognitive decline
William Robert Kwapong, Zheli Chen, Youjie Wang, Xiaoqian Luan, Jiahui Chen, Caiyun Wen, Yinhe Liu, Ip Yiu Ming Bonaventure et al.. Alzheimer s & Dementia, 2026-02-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
MCI exhibited greater retinal tortuosity (p < 0.05) and sparser vasculature (p < 0.001), correlating with higher PSMD, WMH volumes, and adverse plasma biomarkers (all p < 0.05). Mediation analysis revealed PSMD and WMH volumes partially mediated retinal-cognitive associations (p for all mediation < 0.05). Retinal microvascular dysfunction in MCI reflects concurrent cerebral SVD and neurodegeneration, supporting its potential as a non-invasive biomarker for early cognitive decline.
Key findings
- MCI exhibited greater retinal tortuosity (p < 0.05) and sparser vasculature (p < 0.001), correlating with higher PSMD, WMH volumes, and adverse plasma biomarkers (all p < 0.05).
- Mediation analysis revealed PSMD and WMH volumes partially mediated retinal-cognitive associations (p for all mediation < 0.05).
- Retinal microvascular dysfunction in MCI reflects concurrent cerebral SVD and neurodegeneration, supporting its potential as a non-invasive biomarker for early cognitive decline.
Why it matters
In people with mild cognitive impairment, changes in retinal blood vessels were linked to cerebral small vessel disease and cognitive decline. The authors suggest retinal imaging could be a non-invasive biomarker for early cognitive decline, but this does not yet offer a treatment or cure.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 41 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 43 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer s & Dementia) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (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 | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 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 | 2 / 7 | Cited 5 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 2.5 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 23.7× 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 5 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Zhen Wang holds only 6 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Chinese University of Hong Kong: institution h-index 1,100 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 9 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41761865) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 41 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 41 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 43 out of 100. |
| Total | 43 / 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).
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. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Kwapong, W. R., Chen, Z., Wang, Y., Luan, X., Chen, J., Wen, C., et al. (2026). Retinal microvascular dysfunction in mild cognitive impairment: Associations with cerebral small vessel disease, plasma biomarkers, and cognitive decline. Alzheimer s & Dementia. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71216
Vancouver
Kwapong WR, Chen Z, Wang Y, Luan X, Chen J, Wen C, et al. Retinal microvascular dysfunction in mild cognitive impairment: Associations with cerebral small vessel disease, plasma biomarkers, and cognitive decline. Alzheimer s & Dementia. 2026. doi:10.1002/alz.71216. PMID: 41761865.
BibTeX
@article{kwapong2026-41761865,
author = {Kwapong, William Robert and Chen, Zheli and Wang, Youjie and Luan, Xiaoqian and Chen, Jiahui and Wen, Caiyun and Liu, Yinhe and Bonaventure, Ip Yiu Ming and others},
title = {{Retinal microvascular dysfunction in mild cognitive impairment: Associations with cerebral small vessel disease, plasma biomarkers, and cognitive decline}},
journal = {Alzheimer s \& Dementia},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1002/alz.71216},
pmid = {41761865},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71216}
}
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