Journal of Diagnostics Concepts & Practice >

2025 , Vol. 24 >Issue 05: 548 - 554

DOI: https://doi.org/10.16150/j.1671-2870.2025.05.011

Review articles

Advances in research on association between mild behavioral impairment and Alzheimer′s disease

  • LI Yuhang ,
  • XIAO Shifu ,
  • YUE Ling
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  • Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China

Received date: 2025-03-31

  Revised date: 2025-05-05

  Accepted date: 2025-06-30

  Online published: 2025-10-25

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Abstract

Mild behavioral impairment (MBI) refers to a series of neuropsychiatric symptoms in adults aged ≥50 years, primarily characterized by affective dysregulation and impulse control deficits, including depression, mania, hallucinations, and delusions. As an early harbinger of cognitive decline, MBI is intrinsically linked to the pathological progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and may appear several years before the onset of dementia symptoms. Its prevalence is approximately 10% in cognitively normal populations, increasing to 14%-50% among individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, in clinical practice, the potential associations between MBI and AD are often underestimated or overlooked due to the complexity and non-specificity of MBI symptoms. In recent years, with in-depth research on AD biomarkers, the intrinsic relationship between MBI and AD has been gradually revealed. Cross-sectional studies have confirmed that MBI is significantly associated with reduced cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ42 levels and elevated cerebral Aβ deposition burden. Longitudinal evidence further demonstrates positive associations between MBI severity, high Aβ deposition, and accelerated cognitive decline, though its links with tau pathology remain controversial. MBI shows spatial consistency with AD-characteristic brain atrophy, such as in the hippocampus, amygdala, and entorhinal cortex. Collectively, this evidence solidifies the important role of MBI as a neuropsychiatric biomarker in the preclinical stage of AD. To optimize early AD detection, this review aims to highlight the need to establish a multidimensional assessment framework integrating neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognitive decline in clinical practice and remind clinicians to heighten vigilance toward abnormal neuropsychiatric behaviors in the elderly, thereby improving the detection rate of the preclinical stage of AD.

Key words： Mild behavioral impairment; Alzheimer's disease; Neuropsychiatric symptoms; Biomarkers; Neuroima-ging; Cognitive decline

Cite this article

LI Yuhang , XIAO Shifu , YUE Ling . Advances in research on association between mild behavioral impairment and Alzheimer′s disease[J]. Journal of Diagnostics Concepts & Practice, 2025 , 24(05) : 548 -554 . DOI: 10.16150/j.1671-2870.2025.05.011

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