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60/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 60 out of 100. Genetics

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Plain-language summary

Objective The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature of cardiovascular factors pertaining to incident Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods A systematic literature review was conducted of all studies of cardiovascular risk factors for incident AD listed in PubMed in English from 2000 to 2007. Risk factors included hypertension, diabetes, exercise, alcohol intake, smoking, B complex vitamins, homocysteine, stroke, atrial fibrillation, apolipoprotein E (APOE), lipids, and diet. Inclusion criteria consisted of diagnoses of incident AD and longitudinal studies with cohorts of 500 or more. Results Individual clinically defined risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes were not significantly associated with increased risk for AD. The strength of the association for hypertension could be considerably strengthened by changing criteria such as midlife measurements or using higher cutoffs for systolic blood pressure. APOE epsilon4 was the most consistent risk factor. Interactions between risk factors modify risk particularly for hypertension and diabetes. Interactions modifying risk were also found for exercise and physical function, APOE epsilon4, diabetes, and cholesterol. Conclusions In this review, the evidence that single clinically defined cardiovascular risk factors are significantly associated with incident AD is inconsistent at best. The strength of the association of cardiovascular risk factors and AD can be influenced greatly by changing the parameters of measurement of risk factors and by identifying interactions between the factors.

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APA 7th

Purnell, C., Gao, S., Callahan, C. M., & Hendrie, H. C. (2009). Cardiovascular risk factors and incident Alzheimer disease: a systematic review of the literature. Alzheimer disease and associated disorders. https://doi.org/10.1097/wad.0b013e318187541c

Vancouver

Purnell C, Gao S, Callahan CM, Hendrie HC. Cardiovascular risk factors and incident Alzheimer disease: a systematic review of the literature. Alzheimer disease and associated disorders. 2009. doi:10.1097/wad.0b013e318187541c. PMID: 18703981.

BibTeX

@article{purnell2009-18703981,
  author  = {Purnell, C. and Gao, S. and Callahan, C. M. and Hendrie, H. C.},
  title   = {{Cardiovascular risk factors and incident Alzheimer disease: a systematic review of the literature}},
  journal = {Alzheimer disease and associated disorders},
  year    = {2009},
  doi     = {10.1097/wad.0b013e318187541c},
  pmid    = {18703981},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1097/wad.0b013e318187541c}
}

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How to read this study

Design: this is a pooled review. It combines earlier studies, so it is only as good as the studies it pools. Check how many were included, whether they were similar enough to combine, and whether the authors report inconsistency between them.
Size: the record gives no participant count. Look for one in the original before trusting a pattern.
Effect: the record gives no effect size, so the summary above cannot say how large any difference was.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded high. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. High means the abstract mentions a randomized design, a meta-analysis or a systematic review. It can add at most 5 of the 100 points in the study score, and it is a label about design, not a verdict on whether the findings are true.

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Key findings

Results Individual clinically defined risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes were not significantly associated with increased risk for AD.
Conclusions In this review, the evidence that single clinically defined cardiovascular risk factors are significantly associated with incident AD is inconsistent at best.

Why it matters

In this review, single clinically defined cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes were not significantly associated with increased risk of incident Alzheimer's disease. APOE ε4 was the most consistent risk factor, and interactions between risk factors appeared to modify risk.

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Study details

Study designsystematic review
Evidence strengthHigh

How this study scored 60/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a systematic review of all the studies on the question. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported and studied in people because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer disease and associated disorders)
Journal's citation record	1 / 4	Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders: journal h-index 131 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	12 / 12	A systematic review of all the studies on the question
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	2009 — within 20 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	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	0 / 3	Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	A review of other studies — randomization is not credited here
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 189 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	9.9 citations a year over 19 year(s) since 2009
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 11.1× 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	2 / 4	Cited 19 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Hugh C. Hendrie: h-index 76 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Indiana University: institution h-index 926 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 18703981)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	60 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

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