Tracking early decline in cognitive function in older individuals at risk for Alzheimer disease dementia: the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study Cognitive Function Instrument
Amariglio RE, Donohue MC, Marshall GA, Rentz DM, Salmon DP, Ferris SH, Karantzoulis S, Aisen PS et al.. JAMA neurology, 2015-04-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Importance Several large-scale Alzheimer disease (AD) secondary prevention trials have begun to target individuals at the preclinical stage. The success of these trials depends on validated outcome measures that are sensitive to early clinical progression in individuals who are initially asymptomatic. Objective To investigate the utility of the Cognitive Function Instrument (CFI) to track early changes in cognitive function in older individuals without clinical impairment at baseline. Design, setting, and participants Longitudinal study from February 2002 through February 2007 at participating Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study sites. Individuals were followed up annually for 48 months after the baseline visit. The study included 468 healthy older individuals (Clinical Dementia Rating scale [CDR] global scores of 0, above cutoff on the modified Mini-Mental State Examination and Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test) (mean [SD] age, 79.4 [3.6] years; age range, 75.0-93.8 years). All study participants and their study partners completed the self and partner CFIs annually. Individuals also underwent concurrent annual neuropsychological assessment and APOE genotyping. Main outcomes and measures The CFI scores between clinical progressors (CDR score, ≥0.5) and nonprogressors (CDR score, 0) and between APOE ε4 carriers and noncarriers were compared. Correlations of change between the CFI scores and neuropsychological performance were assessed longitudinally. Results At 48 months, group differences between clinical progressors and non-progressors were significant for self (2.13, SE=0.45, P Conclusions and relevance Demonstrating long-term clinical benefit will be critical for the success of recently launched secondary prevention trials. The CFI appears to be a brief, but informative potential outcome measure that provides insight into functional abilities at the earliest stages of disease.
Key findings
- Results At 48 months, group differences between clinical progressors and non-progressors were significant for self (2.13, SE=0.45, P Conclusions and relevance Demonstrating long-term clinical benefit will be critical for the success of recently launched secondary prevention trials.
Why it matters
A questionnaire called the Cognitive Function Instrument detected differences between older people who later showed clinical decline and those who did not over 48 months. This is about tracking early changes for use in prevention trials, not about treating or preventing Alzheimer's disease itself.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants468
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 66/100
Published in a leading specialty 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 | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | JAMA Neurology: journal h-index 235 (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 | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 468 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 199 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 15.3 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 9.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 12 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 68 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Reisa Anne Sperling: h-index 157 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25706191) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 66 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.3375
- PubMed: 25706191
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
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
Amariglio, R. E., Donohue, M. C., Marshall, G. A., Rentz, D. M., Salmon, D. P., Ferris, S. H., et al. (2015). Tracking early decline in cognitive function in older individuals at risk for Alzheimer disease dementia: the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study Cognitive Function Instrument. JAMA neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.3375
Vancouver
Amariglio RE, Donohue MC, Marshall GA, Rentz DM, Salmon DP, Ferris SH, et al. Tracking early decline in cognitive function in older individuals at risk for Alzheimer disease dementia: the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study Cognitive Function Instrument. JAMA neurology. 2015. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.3375. PMID: 25706191.
BibTeX
@article{amariglio2015-25706191,
author = {Amariglio, R. E. and Donohue, M. C. and Marshall, G. A. and Rentz, D. M. and Salmon, D. P. and Ferris, S. H. and Karantzoulis, S. and Aisen, P. S. and others},
title = {{Tracking early decline in cognitive function in older individuals at risk for Alzheimer disease dementia: the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study Cognitive Function Instrument}},
journal = {JAMA neurology},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.3375},
pmid = {25706191},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.3375}
}
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