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Cognitive and sensory declines in old age: gauging the evidence for a common cause
Lindenberger U, Ghisletta P.. Psychology and aging, 2009-03-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Resource accounts of behavioral aging postulate that age-associated impairments within and across intellectual and sensory domains reflect, in part, a common set of senescent alterations in the neurochemistry and neuroanatomy of the aging brain. Hence, these accounts predict sizeable correlations of between-person differences in rates of decline, both within and across intellectual and sensory domains. The authors examined reliability-adjusted variances and covariances in longitudinal change for 8 cognitive measures and for close visual acuity, distant visual acuity, and hearing in 516 participants in the Berlin Aging Study (ages 70 to 103 years at 1st measurement). Up to 6 longitudinal measurements were distributed over up to 13 years. Individual differences in rates of cognitive decline were highly correlated, with a single factor accounting for 60% of the variance in cognitive change. This amount increased to 65% when controlling for age at first measurement, distance to death, and risk of dementia. Contrary to expectations, the correlations between cognitive and sensory declines were only moderate in size, underscoring the need to delineate both domain-general and function-specific mechanisms of behavioral senescence.
Key findings
- The authors examined reliability-adjusted variances and covariances in longitudinal change for 8 cognitive measures and for close visual acuity, distant visual acuity, and hearing in 516 participants in the Berlin Aging Study (ages 70 to 103 years at 1st measurement).
- Up to 6 longitudinal measurements were distributed over up to 13 years.
- Individual differences in rates of cognitive decline were highly correlated, with a single factor accounting for 60% of the variance in cognitive change.
- This amount increased to 65% when controlling for age at first measurement, distance to death, and risk of dementia.
- Contrary to expectations, the correlations between cognitive and sensory declines were only moderate in size, underscoring the need to delineate both domain-general and function-specific mechanisms of behavioral senescence.
Why it matters
This longitudinal study found that individual differences in rates of cognitive decline were highly correlated, with a single factor accounting for 60% of the variance in cognitive change. Contrary to expectations, correlations between cognitive and sensory declines were only moderate, so sensory decline is not a strong stand-in for cognitive decline.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants516
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over 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 (Psychology and aging) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Psychology and Aging: journal h-index 243 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same 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 | 1 / 5 | 2009 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 516 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 254 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 13.4 citations a year over 19 year(s) since 2009 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 21.4× 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 35 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Paolo Ghisletta: h-index 45 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Max Planck Society: institution h-index 1,183 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 19290733) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1037/a0014986
- PubMed: 19290733
- Original source →
- Free full text: Max Planck Digital Library →
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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Lindenberger, U., & Ghisletta, P. (2009). Cognitive and sensory declines in old age: gauging the evidence for a common cause. Psychology and aging. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014986
Vancouver
Lindenberger U, Ghisletta P. Cognitive and sensory declines in old age: gauging the evidence for a common cause. Psychology and aging. 2009. doi:10.1037/a0014986. PMID: 19290733.
BibTeX
@article{lindenberger2009-19290733,
author = {Lindenberger, U. and Ghisletta, P.},
title = {{Cognitive and sensory declines in old age: gauging the evidence for a common cause}},
journal = {Psychology and aging},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.1037/a0014986},
pmid = {19290733},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014986}
}
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