Despite the theoretical advantages of identifying individuals with cognitive impairment, there is no evidence to indicate whether this leads to a net benefit or risk to the individual. Although pharmaceutica agents are able to produce measurable changes in cognitive performance in people with Alzheimer’s disease, none has been shown to result consistently in clinically significant improvement. The high cost of investigation to exclude reversible causes of dementia, and the negative effects of labelling are examples of potential harm. Identification of asymptomatic cognitively impaired individuals by the use of short mental status tests or by any other means has not been demonstrated to produce benefit. Thus there is insufficient evidence to recommend.
