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Cognitive reserve: implications for diagnosis and prevention of Alzheimer's disease
Scarmeas N, Stern Y.. Current neurology and neuroscience reports, 2004-09-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Epidemiologic evidence suggests that higher occupational attainment and education, as well as increased participation in intellectual, social, and physical aspects of daily life, are associated with slower cognitive decline in healthy elderly and may reduce the risk of incident Alzheimer's disease (AD). There is also evidence from structural and functional imaging studies that patients with such life experiences can tolerate more AD pathology before showing signs of clinical dementia. It has been hypothesized that such aspects of life experience may result in functionally more efficient cognitive networks and, therefore, provide a cognitive reserve that delays the onset of clinical manifestations of dementia. In this article, we review some of the relevant literature of the noted associations between markers of cognitive reserve and AD and discuss the possible mechanisms that may explain these associations.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Scarmeas, N., & Stern, Y. (2004). Cognitive reserve: implications for diagnosis and prevention of Alzheimer's disease. Current neurology and neuroscience reports. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-004-0084-7
Vancouver
Scarmeas N, Stern Y. Cognitive reserve: implications for diagnosis and prevention of Alzheimer's disease. Current neurology and neuroscience reports. 2004. doi:10.1007/s11910-004-0084-7. PMID: 15324603.
BibTeX
@article{scarmeas2004-15324603,
author = {Scarmeas, N. and Stern, Y.},
title = {{Cognitive reserve: implications for diagnosis and prevention of Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Current neurology and neuroscience reports},
year = {2004},
doi = {10.1007/s11910-004-0084-7},
pmid = {15324603},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-004-0084-7}
}
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Key findings
- Epidemiologic evidence suggests that higher occupational attainment and education, as well as increased participation in intellectual, social, and physical aspects of daily life, are associated with slower cognitive decline in healthy elderly and may reduce the risk of incident Alzheimer's disease (AD).
- It has been hypothesized that such aspects of life experience may result in functionally more efficient cognitive networks and, therefore, provide a cognitive reserve that delays the onset of clinical manifestations of dementia.
Why it matters
This review discusses evidence that higher education, occupational attainment, and participation in intellectual, social, and physical activities are associated with slower cognitive decline and may reduce Alzheimer's disease risk. It hypothesizes that these life experiences provide a cognitive reserve that delays the onset of clinical dementia.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Current neurology and neuroscience reports) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports: journal h-index 124 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| 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 | 2004 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 251 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.5 citations a year over 24 year(s) since 2004 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 10 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 24 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Yaakov Stern: h-index 162 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Columbia University Irving Medical Center: institution h-index 1,047 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 15324603) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 43 / 100 | — |
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