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A 2 year multidomain intervention of diet, exercise, cognitive training, and vascular risk monitoring versus control to prevent cognitive decline in at-risk elderly people (FINGER): a randomised controlled trial
Ngandu T, Lehtisalo J, Solomon A, Levälahti E, Ahtiluoto S, Antikainen R, Bäckman L, Hänninen T, Jula A, Laatikainen T, Lindström J, Mangialasche F, Paajanen T, Pajala S, Peltonen M, Rauramaa R, Stigsdotter-Neely A, Strandberg T, Tuomilehto J, Soininen H, Kivipelto M. The Lancet, 2015-03-12
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
This Finnish randomized controlled trial was the first large study to show that a two-year program combining diet counseling, exercise, cognitive training, and monitoring of heart-health risk factors could help maintain or improve thinking skills in older adults at elevated dementia risk, compared with a control group who received only general health advice. It became the template for the later, larger US POINTER trial.
Key findings
- 1,260 adults aged 60-77 with elevated dementia risk scores randomized to 2-year multidomain intervention vs. control (regular health advice)
- Estimated mean neuropsychological test battery (NTB) Z-score change at 2 years: 0.20 in intervention group vs 0.16 in control group; between-group annual difference 0.022 points (p=0.030)
- Adverse events (mostly musculoskeletal) were more common in the intervention group (7% vs 1%)
Why it matters
The FINGER trial showed that a two-year multidomain program of diet, exercise, cognitive training, and vascular risk monitoring helped maintain or improve thinking skills in older adults at elevated dementia risk compared with general health advice. Adverse events, mostly musculoskeletal, were more common in the intervention group (7% vs 1%).
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Study details
- Study designRCT
- Participants1,260
- Effect sizeNTB Z-score change 0.20 (intervention) vs. 0.16 (control); annual between-group difference 0.022
- Evidence strengthHigh
Limitations
Modest absolute effect size; higher adverse events, mostly musculoskeletal, in the intervention group (7% vs. 1%); single-country (Finland) population.
How this study scored 74/100
Published in a top-tier journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for indexed in PubMed because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 46 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 74 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 10 / 10 | Tier 1 — top-tier general journal (The Lancet) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,260 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 0 / 2 | No PubMed ID and no DOI — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 46 / 62 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 46 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 74 out of 100. |
| Total | 74 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 21 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Ngandu, T., Lehtisalo, J., Solomon, A., Levälahti, E., Ahtiluoto, S., Antikainen, R., et al. (2015). A 2 year multidomain intervention of diet, exercise, cognitive training, and vascular risk monitoring versus control to prevent cognitive decline in at-risk elderly people (FINGER): a randomised controlled trial. The Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(15)60461-5
Vancouver
Ngandu T, Lehtisalo J, Solomon A, Levälahti E, Ahtiluoto S, Antikainen R, et al. A 2 year multidomain intervention of diet, exercise, cognitive training, and vascular risk monitoring versus control to prevent cognitive decline in at-risk elderly people (FINGER): a randomised controlled trial. The Lancet. 2015. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(15)60461-5. PMID: 25771249.
BibTeX
@article{ngandu2015-18edebfe,
author = {Ngandu, T. and Lehtisalo, J. and Solomon, A. and Levälahti, E. and Ahtiluoto, S. and Antikainen, R. and Bäckman, L. and Hänninen, T. and Jula, A. and Laatikainen, T. and Lindström, J. and Mangialasche, F. and Paajanen, T. and Pajala, S. and Peltonen, M. and Rauramaa, R. and Stigsdotter-Neely, A. and Strandberg, T. and Tuomilehto, J. and Soininen, H. and Kivipelto, M.},
title = {{A 2 year multidomain intervention of diet, exercise, cognitive training, and vascular risk monitoring versus control to prevent cognitive decline in at-risk elderly people (FINGER): a randomised controlled trial}},
journal = {The Lancet},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1016/s0140-6736(15)60461-5},
pmid = {25771249},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(15)60461-5}
}
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