Defining Mild Cognitive Impairment: Impact of Varying Decision Criteria on Neuropsychological Diagnostic Frequencies and Correlates

MCI diagnosis frequencies are substantively affected by the stringency of the criteria, but the relative rankings of MCI subtype diagnoses are fairly consistent regardless of the stringency of the criteria. Significant associations of neuropsychological diagnoses with independent markers such as APOE genotype and MTA are only found with more stringent criteria, suggesting that a coherent network of associations reflecting cognitive decline occurs with more restrictive definitions for impairment.