Ten studies provided data on the accuracy of subjective memory complaints for the diagnosis of dementia and/or mild cognitive impairment.
The pooled sensitivity of subjective memory complaints for the diagnosis of dementia was 0.43 (95% CI 0.40 to 0.46) and the pooled specificity was 0.86 (95% CI 0.85 to 0.87) based on data from eight studies (n=6,868).
The pooled sensitivity of subjective memory complaints for the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment was 0.37 (95% CI 0.35 to 0.40) and the pooled specificity was 0.87 (95% CI 0.86 to 0.88) based on data from seven studies (n=8,912).
Community studies with a low prevalence gave positive and negative predictive values of 18.8% and 93.7% for dementia and 31.4% and 86.9% for mild cognitive impairment. The clinical utility index suggested that subjective memory complaints had poor value for ruling in a diagnosis of dementia but good value for ruling out a diagnosis.