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Characteristics of age-related language decline in adults with Down syndrome
Young EC, Kramer BM.. Mental retardation, 1991-04-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Age-related declines in language and other neuropsychological variables were examined in 60 adults with Down syndrome. Researchers have found that deterioration in functioning is present in most adults with Down syndrome if they live to be 35 years of age. Declines have typically been interpreted as symptoms of Alzheimer disease; however, the declines are not well-understood, and alternative explanations have been suggested. Our results showed significant relations between aging and language comprehension and aging and self-help skills. Verbal skills were not significantly related to aging and little variation occurred between the youngest and the oldest subjects. Guidelines for choosing appropriate criteria to examine the loss of language skills in this population were discussed.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Young, E. C., & Kramer, B. M. (1991). Characteristics of age-related language decline in adults with Down syndrome. Mental retardation.
Vancouver
Young EC, Kramer BM. Characteristics of age-related language decline in adults with Down syndrome. Mental retardation. 1991. PMID: 1830635.
BibTeX
@article{young1991-1830635,
author = {Young, E. C. and Kramer, B. M.},
title = {{Characteristics of age-related language decline in adults with Down syndrome}},
journal = {Mental retardation},
year = {1991},
pmid = {1830635}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. This record has no DOI, so the citation leaves it out. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Our results showed significant relations between aging and language comprehension and aging and self-help skills.
- Verbal skills were not significantly related to aging and little variation occurred between the youngest and the oldest subjects.
Why it matters
In 60 adults with Down syndrome, aging was significantly related to language comprehension and self-help skills, but verbal skills were not significantly related to aging. The authors note that declines are often interpreted as Alzheimer disease symptoms but are not well understood and may have other explanations.
Study details
- Participants60
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 34/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record and senior author's track record, so those were left out: it earned 31 of the 92 points we could judge it on, which is 34 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Mental retardation) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1991 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 60 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 21 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.6 citations a year over 37 year(s) since 1991 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 1 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Rochester: institution h-index 1,195 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 1830635) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 31 / 92 | Scored on 18 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 31 of the 92 points we could judge it on is 34 out of 100. |
| Total | 34 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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