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Speech‐based digital cognitive assessment for clinical trials: Detecting cognitive impairment stages and AD biomarker relations across European cohorts
Alexandra König, Johannes Tröger, Elisa Mallick, Nicklas Linz, Craig Ritchie, Sarah Gregory, Matthew B. Hunter, Kay Johnson et al.. Alzheimer s & Dementia, 2026-05-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
SB-C significantly differentiated cognitively unimpaired and impaired groups (P < 0.001), correlated with standard cognitive measures, and showed moderate-to-high area under the curve (0.56-0.82) for classifying biomarker positivity, with strongest results in BioFINDER-Primary Care. SB-C is a scalable, remote speech-derived marker associated with cognitive status and AD biomarker group differences.
Key findings
- SB-C significantly differentiated cognitively unimpaired and impaired groups (P < 0.001), correlated with standard cognitive measures, and showed moderate-to-high area under the curve (0.56-0.82) for classifying biomarker positivity, with strongest results in BioFINDER-Primary Care.
- SB-C is a scalable, remote speech-derived marker associated with cognitive status and AD biomarker group differences.
Why it matters
This study found that a speech-based digital cognitive assessment differentiated cognitively unimpaired and impaired groups and correlated with standard cognitive measures. It is a marker for cognitive status and Alzheimer's disease biomarker group differences, not a treatment or cure.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants736
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 56/100
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 (Alzheimer s & Dementia) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (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 | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 736 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 | 1 / 7 | Cited 2 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.0 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 9.5× 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 | 0 / 4 | Cited 2 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Sebastian Palmqvist: h-index 81 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Edinburgh: institution h-index 1,378 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 14 institution(s) in 5 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 42151661) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 56 / 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
König, A., Tröger, J., Mallick, E., Linz, N., Ritchie, C., Gregory, S., et al. (2026). Speech‐based digital cognitive assessment for clinical trials: Detecting cognitive impairment stages and AD biomarker relations across European cohorts. Alzheimer s & Dementia. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71462
Vancouver
König A, Tröger J, Mallick E, Linz N, Ritchie C, Gregory S, et al. Speech‐based digital cognitive assessment for clinical trials: Detecting cognitive impairment stages and AD biomarker relations across European cohorts. Alzheimer s & Dementia. 2026. doi:10.1002/alz.71462. PMID: 42151661.
BibTeX
@article{konig2026-42151661,
author = {König, Alexandra and Tröger, Johannes and Mallick, Elisa and Linz, Nicklas and Ritchie, Craig and Gregory, Sarah and Hunter, Matthew B. and Johnson, Kay and others},
title = {{Speech‐based digital cognitive assessment for clinical trials: Detecting cognitive impairment stages and AD biomarker relations across European cohorts}},
journal = {Alzheimer s \& Dementia},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1002/alz.71462},
pmid = {42151661},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71462}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 17.