Mild behavioral impairment: A new at-risk state for Alzheimer's disease?

Improving our response to Alzheimer's disease (AD), including prevention and early intervention, is critical for maximizing healthy aging outcomes. Identifying older adults at highest risk for AD would provide an opportunity to offer support, plan for the future, and implement strategies to enhance cognitive and functional outcomes. The emergence of neuropsychiatric symptoms may be one indicator of early AD-related cognitive decline, but distinguishing symptoms from those due to other causes can be challenging. Mild behavioral impairment (MBI) describes an at-risk state for cognitive decline characterized by the late-life onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms. In this article, we discuss the current conceptualization of MBI, the potential for its characteristic neuropsychiatric symptoms to indicate risk for future cognitive decline, and present potential clinical implications.