Optical coherence tomography artefact burden predicts cognitive decline and incident dementia.

INTRODUCTION

Scalable, low-burden biomarkers for predicting cognitive decline remain needed. We hypothesised that OCT acquisition irregularities (commonly termed scan artefacts), which may reflect visuomotor and attentional instability during imaging, carry prognostic information for cognitive outcomes.

METHODS

We studied 507 Asian memory clinic participants who underwent baseline OCT imaging and comprehensive neuropsychological assessment annually for up to 5 years. OCT artefacts (motion, shadow, off-centre, refractive shift, out-of-boundary, and tilt) and signal strength were graded at baseline. Clinically significant cognitive decline was defined as a ≥ 0.5 standard deviation decrease in global cognitive z-score from baseline at any follow-up visit. Cox proportional hazards models evaluated associations between artefact burden and incident cognitive decline, adjusting for demographics, education, diabetes, and baseline cognitive status/diagnosis. Among participants with cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND) at baseline (n = 222), we additionally assessed conversion to dementia.

RESULTS

Cognitive decline occurred in 289 participants (57%). Presence of any artefact was associated with higher risk of decline (HR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.12-1.68, p = 0.003). Among 222 participants with baseline CIND, bilateral artefacts were associated with higher risk of conversion to dementia (HR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.10-3.02, p = 0.019).

CONCLUSION

Routine OCT acquisition irregularities may provide an opportunistic, low-burden prognostic signal for cognitive vulnerability and dementia progression, complementing established neurodegenerative biomarkers.