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Atrial fibrillation and cognitive decline in the Framingham Heart Study
Nishtala A, Piers RJ, Himali JJ, Beiser AS, Davis-Plourde KL, Saczynski JS, McManus DD, Benjamin EJ et al.. Heart rhythm, 2017-09-22
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background There is a paucity of longitudinal research investigating the relations between atrial fibrillation (AF) and domain-specific cognitive performance. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between AF and cognitive performance cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Methods Eligible participants were dementia- and stroke-free at the time of baseline neuropsychological (NP) assessment and underwent at least 1 additional NP assessment with at least 1-year inter-test interval.
Key findings
- Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between AF and cognitive performance cross-sectionally and longitudinally.
- Methods Eligible participants were dementia- and stroke-free at the time of baseline neuropsychological (NP) assessment and underwent at least 1 additional NP assessment with at least 1-year inter-test interval.
- AF status was examined as a 2-level variable (prevalent AF, no AF) in cross-sectional analyses and then separately as a 3-level variable (prevalent AF, interim AF, no AF) in longitudinal analyses.
- We examined the association between AF status and cognitive performance with linear regression.
Why it matters
This study investigated whether atrial fibrillation was associated with cognitive performance cross-sectionally and over time in the Framingham Heart Study. It does not show that treating atrial fibrillation prevents cognitive decline or dementia, and the results are observational.
Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Participants2,682
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 55/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Heart rhythm) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Heart Rhythm: journal h-index 195 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in 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 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 2,682 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 78 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 7.8 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 23 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Rhoda Au: h-index 90 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, San Francisco: institution h-index 1,915 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28943482) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 55 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Nishtala, A., Piers, R. J., Himali, J. J., Beiser, A. S., Davis-Plourde, K. L., Saczynski, J. S., et al. (2018). Atrial fibrillation and cognitive decline in the Framingham Heart Study. Heart rhythm. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2017.09.036
Vancouver
Nishtala A, Piers RJ, Himali JJ, Beiser AS, Davis-Plourde KL, Saczynski JS, et al. Atrial fibrillation and cognitive decline in the Framingham Heart Study. Heart rhythm. 2018. doi:10.1016/j.hrthm.2017.09.036. PMID: 28943482.
BibTeX
@article{nishtala2018-28943482,
author = {Nishtala, A. and Piers, R. J. and Himali, J. J. and Beiser, A. S. and Davis-Plourde, K. L. and Saczynski, J. S. and McManus, D. D. and Benjamin, E. J. and others},
title = {{Atrial fibrillation and cognitive decline in the Framingham Heart Study}},
journal = {Heart rhythm},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1016/j.hrthm.2017.09.036},
pmid = {28943482},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2017.09.036}
}
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