Challenges to recruitment of participants with MCI in a multicentric neuropsychological study

Brambillaa, Michela and Parra, Mario A and Della Sala, Sergio and Alemanno, Federica and Pomati, Simone (2020) Challenges to recruitment of participants with MCI in a multicentric neuropsychological study. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. ISSN 1594-0667 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-020-01729-3)

[thumbnail of Brambilla-etal-ACER-2020-Challenges-to-recruitment-of-participants-with-MCI-in-a-multicentric-neuropsychological-study]
Preview
Text. Filename: Brambilla_etal_ACER_2020_Challenges_to_recruitment_of_participants_with_MCI_in_a_multicentric_neuropsychological_study.pdf
Accepted Author Manuscript
License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 logo

Download (608kB)| Preview

Abstract

Background: Data on recruitment of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) samples are seldom reported and this issue can be an important source of research waste. Aim: To describe the recruitment challenges and reasons for non-eligibility faced during a bi-centre clinical study assessing the predictive value of a neuropsychological battery of the progression to dementia. Methods: Potential MCI participants were identified from databases of the two memory clinics based in Milan (Italy) and invited to the screening assessment. Results: About 50% of the cases initially identified were ineligible according to inclusion/exclusion criteria and the two sites took 22 months to recruit the planned 150 people. The main reasons for non-eligibility were the MMSE score (41%), age (14%), presence of cerebrovascular disorders (9%), perceptual deficits (6%), neurological (6%) or psychiatric (4%) comorbidities and low education (5%). Conclusion: Awareness of the reasons for exclusion and of the time needed to recruit the planned sample would provide hints for the planning of future studies on MCI.