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80/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 80 out of 100. How common it is

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Objective To investigate whether people with subjective memory complaints (SMC) but no objective deficits are at increased risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Method Major electronic databases were searched till 03/2014, and a meta-analysis was conducted using inception cohort studies. Results Across 28 studies, there were 29,723 unique individuals (14,714 with SMC and 15,009 without SMC) (mean 71.6 years) followed on average for 4.8 years through to dementia. The annual conversion rate (ACR) of SMC to dementia was 2.33% (95% CI = 1.93%-2.78%) a relative risk (RR) of 2.07 (95% CI = 1.76-2.44) compared with those without SMC (n = 15,009). From 11 studies the ACR of developing MCI was 6.67% (95% CI = 4.70-8.95%). In long-term studies over 4 years, 14.1% (9.67-19.1%) of people with SMC developed dementia and 26.6% (95% CI = 5.3-39.7) went on to develop MCI. The ACR from SMC to dementia and MCI were comparable in community and non-community settings. Conclusion Older people with SMC but no objective complaints are twice as likely to develop dementia as individuals without SMC. Approximately 2.3% and 6.6% of older people with SMC will progress to dementia and MCI per year.

Key findings

Objective To investigate whether people with subjective memory complaints (SMC) but no objective deficits are at increased risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia.
Results Across 28 studies, there were 29,723 unique individuals (14,714 with SMC and 15,009 without SMC) (mean 71.6 years) followed on average for 4.8 years through to dementia.
The annual conversion rate (ACR) of SMC to dementia was 2.33% (95% CI = 1.93%-2.78%) a relative risk (RR) of 2.07 (95% CI = 1.76-2.44) compared with those without SMC (n = 15,009).

Why it matters

This meta-analysis found that older people with subjective memory complaints but no objective deficits were about twice as likely to develop dementia as those without such complaints, with annual conversion rates of 2.33% to dementia and 6.67% to mild cognitive impairment. It identifies a group at higher risk but does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.

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Study details

Study designmeta-analysis
Participants15,009
Effect sizeor 4.8; 2.33%; 1.93%
Evidence strengthHigh

How this study scored 80/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica: journal h-index 239 (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	2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	4 / 4	15,009 participants
Effect reported	2 / 3	Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here
Times cited	7 / 7	Cited 1,169 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	5 / 5	83.5 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014
Impact for its field and year	5 / 6	Cited 30.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	4 / 6	Cited by 34 other studies in this library
Still being cited	4 / 4	Cited 361 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Brendon Stubbs: h-index 136 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	University of Manchester: institution h-index 1,304 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25219393)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	80 / 100	—

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Read the original

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

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APA 7th

Mitchell, A. J., Beaumont, H., Ferguson, D., Yadegarfar, M., & Stubbs, B. (2014). Risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in older people with subjective memory complaints: meta-analysis. Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.12336

Vancouver

Mitchell AJ, Beaumont H, Ferguson D, Yadegarfar M, Stubbs B. Risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in older people with subjective memory complaints: meta-analysis. Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica. 2014. doi:10.1111/acps.12336. PMID: 25219393.

BibTeX

@article{mitchell2014-25219393,
  author  = {Mitchell, A. J. and Beaumont, H. and Ferguson, D. and Yadegarfar, M. and Stubbs, B.},
  title   = {{Risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in older people with subjective memory complaints: meta-analysis}},
  journal = {Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica},
  year    = {2014},
  doi     = {10.1111/acps.12336},
  pmid    = {25219393},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.12336}
}

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