Diagnostic accuracy of blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: To examine the diagnostic accuracy of blood-based biomarkers for detecting Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).

Methods: Seven electronic databases were comprehensively searched for studies evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of blood-based biomarkers for detecting AD or aMCI up to July 31, 2020. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were calculated using a hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic model.

Results: A total of 17 studies (n = 2,083) were included. In differentiating patients with AD from the controls, the DOR was 32.2 for the plasma Aβ42 (sensitivity = 88 %, specificity = 81 %), 29.1 for the plasma Aβ oligomer (sensitivity = 80 %, specificity = 88 %), and 52.1 for the plasma tau (sensitivity = 90 %, specificity = 87 %). For differentiating aMCI from the controls, the DOR was 60.4 for the plasma Aβ42 (sensitivity = 86 %, specificity = 90 %) and 49.1 for the plasma tau (sensitivity = 79 %, specificity = 94 %). The use of ultra-high sensitive technology explained the heterogeneity in the diagnostic performance of blood-based biomarkers (P = .01).

Conclusions: We suggest that blood-based biomarkers are minimally invasive and cost-effective tools for detecting AD; however, the evidence for detecting aMCI was still limited.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Amnestic mild cognitive impairment; Blood biomarkers; Diagnostic accuracy.