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Mayo Clinic Model Estimates 10-Year and Lifetime Risk of Cognitive Decline

The Lancet Neurology study draws on decades of Mayo Clinic Study of Aging data.

Overview

  • The prediction tool combines age, sex, APOE-ε4 status and amyloid PET centiloid values to estimate 10-year and lifetime risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia.
  • Amyloid burden measured on PET was the strongest single predictor, with absolute risk increasing continuously as centiloid values rose.
  • Women and APOE-ε4 carriers showed higher lifetime risk, with example estimates for some 75-year-old female carriers exceeding 80% when amyloid was high.
  • Researchers analyzed 5,858 participants and leveraged medical records to capture outcomes after dropout, though the largely White cohort limits generalizability.
  • Investigators emphasize the model is a research instrument rather than a diagnostic test, and they plan to explore blood-based biomarkers to improve accessibility.