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64/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 64 out of 100. How common it is

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Importance Chronic pain is common among the elderly and is associated with cognitive deficits in cross-sectional studies; the population-level association between chronic pain and longitudinal cognition is unknown. Main outcomes and measures Coprimary outcomes were composite memory score and dementia probability, estimated by combining neuropsychological test results and informant and proxy interviews, which were tracked from 2000 through 2012. To quantify the impact of persistent pain on functional independence, we combined our primary results with information on the association between memory and ability to manage medications and finances independently. Results Of the 10 065 eligible HRS sample members, 60% were female, and median baseline age was 73 years (interquartile range, 67-78 years). At baseline, persistent pain affected 10.9% of participants and was associated with worse depressive symptoms and more limitations in activities of daily living. After covariate adjustment, persistent pain was associated with 9.2% (95% CI, 2.8%-15.0%) more rapid memory decline compared with those without persistent pain. Conclusions and relevance Persistent pain was associated with accelerated memory decline and increased probability of dementia.

Key findings

Importance Chronic pain is common among the elderly and is associated with cognitive deficits in cross-sectional studies; the population-level association between chronic pain and longitudinal cognition is unknown.
Main outcomes and measures Coprimary outcomes were composite memory score and dementia probability, estimated by combining neuropsychological test results and informant and proxy interviews, which were tracked from 2000 through 2012.
To quantify the impact of persistent pain on functional independence, we combined our primary results with information on the association between memory and ability to manage medications and finances independently.
Results Of the 10 065 eligible HRS sample members, 60% were female, and median baseline age was 73 years (interquartile range, 67-78 years).
At baseline, persistent pain affected 10.9% of participants and was associated with worse depressive symptoms and more limitations in activities of daily living.

Why it matters

Among 10,065 older adults in the HRS cohort, followed for memory and dementia from 2000 to 2012, the 10.9% with persistent pain at the start had memory decline that was 9.2% faster after adjustment (95% CI 2.8%–15.0%), and a higher estimated probability of dementia. People with persistent pain also had more depressive symptoms and more limits on daily activities at baseline. This is an observational association: it does not show that pain causes dementia, or that treating pain would prevent it.

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Study details

Study designcohort study
Effect size10.9%; 9.2%; 2.8%
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 64/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA internal medicine)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	JAMA Internal Medicine: journal h-index 258 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	7 / 12	A cohort study following people over time
Strength of evidence	3 / 5	Rated “moderate” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	2 / 5	2017 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	0 / 4	Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Effect reported	2 / 3	Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test
Studied in people	0 / 3	Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	6 / 7	Cited 417 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	4 / 5	37.9 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 14.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	3 / 6	Cited by 11 other studies in this library
Still being cited	4 / 4	Cited 203 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	2 / 4	Last-listed author Alexander Kingsbury Smith: h-index 45 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	University of California, San Francisco: institution h-index 1,915 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28586818)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	64 / 100	—

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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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

APA 7th

Whitlock, E. L., Diaz-Ramirez, L. G., Glymour, M. M., Boscardin, W. J., Covinsky, K. E., & Smith, A. K. (2017). Association Between Persistent Pain and Memory Decline and Dementia in a Longitudinal Cohort of Elders. JAMA internal medicine. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.1622

Vancouver

Whitlock EL, Diaz-Ramirez LG, Glymour MM, Boscardin WJ, Covinsky KE, Smith AK. Association Between Persistent Pain and Memory Decline and Dementia in a Longitudinal Cohort of Elders. JAMA internal medicine. 2017. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.1622. PMID: 28586818.

BibTeX

@article{whitlock2017-28586818,
  author  = {Whitlock, E. L. and Diaz-Ramirez, L. G. and Glymour, M. M. and Boscardin, W. J. and Covinsky, K. E. and Smith, A. K.},
  title   = {{Association Between Persistent Pain and Memory Decline and Dementia in a Longitudinal Cohort of Elders}},
  journal = {JAMA internal medicine},
  year    = {2017},
  doi     = {10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.1622},
  pmid    = {28586818},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.1622}
}

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