Linguistic impairments in patients with mild cognitive impairment: a systematic review

Introduction. The neuropsychological profile of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has been the target of several investigations. However, few works have been published about the language profile in these patients. Aim. To analyse and integrate the published scientific literature about this topic after the systematic review carried out by Johnson and Lin in 2014. Subjects and methods. A systematic review was carried out in which three databases (Web of Science, PubMed and PsycInfo) were consulted. Seventeen studies have been analysed, with adult participants diagnosed with MCI, that included at least one control group, and studies that evaluated language parameters. A self-made registration protocol has been applied to encode the characteristics and results of the studies; and the quality of the studies and articles has been evaluated through a self-elaboration scale based on previously validated instruments. Results. Patients with MCI can present deficits in naming, speech production, oral comprehension, and written comprehension. Conclusions. It is important to evaluate language in patients with MCI, although this exploration does not allow establishing a diagnosis on by itself. However, the pathology variability associated with the diagnosis, the age, the language, and the educational level of the participants, as well as the sample size, and the instruments and measures used to evaluate the language in the studies reviewed, make impossible to obtain a conclusive statement, so further research about this topic is needed.