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75/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 75 out of 100. Prevention and risk

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Objective To investigate the association of enlarged perivascular spaces (ePVS) with cognition in elderly without dementia. Methods We included 5 studies from the Uniform Neuro-Imaging of Virchow-Robin Space Enlargement (UNIVRSE) consortium, namely the Austrian Stroke Prevention Family Study, Study of Health in Pomerania, Rotterdam Study, Epidemiology of Dementia in Singapore study, and Risk Index for Subclinical Brain Lesions in Hong Kong study. ePVS were counted in 4 regions (mesencephalon, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and centrum semiovale) with harmonized rating across studies. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and general fluid cognitive ability factor (G-factor) were used to assess cognitive function. For each study, a linear regression model was performed to estimate the effect of ePVS on MMSE and G-factor. Estimates were pooled across studies with the use of inverse variance meta-analysis with fixed- or random-effect models when appropriate. Results The final sample size consisted of 3,575 persons (age range 63.4-73.2 years, 50.6% women). Total ePVS counts were not significantly associated with MMSE score (mean difference per ePVS score increase 0.001, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.007 to 0.008, p = 0.885) or G-factor (mean difference per ePVS score increase 0.002, 95% CI -0.001 to 0.006, p = 0.148) in age-, sex-, and education-adjusted models. Adjustments for cardiovascular risk factors and MRI markers did not change the results. Repeating the analyses with region-specific ePVS rendered similar results. Conclusions In this study, we found that ePVS counts were not associated with cognitive dysfunction in the general population. Future studies with longitudinal designs are warranted to examine whether ePVS contribute to cognitive decline.

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APA 7th

Hilal, S., Tan, C. S., Adams, H. H. H., Habes, M., Mok, V., Venketasubramanian, N., et al. (2018). Enlarged perivascular spaces and cognition: A meta-analysis of 5 population-based studies. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000006079

Vancouver

Hilal S, Tan CS, Adams HHH, Habes M, Mok V, Venketasubramanian N, et al. Enlarged perivascular spaces and cognition: A meta-analysis of 5 population-based studies. Neurology. 2018. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000006079. PMID: 30068634.

BibTeX

@article{hilal2018-30068634,
  author  = {Hilal, S. and Tan, C. S. and Adams, H. H. H. and Habes, M. and Mok, V. and Venketasubramanian, N. and Hofer, E. and Ikram, M. K. and others},
  title   = {{Enlarged perivascular spaces and cognition: A meta-analysis of 5 population-based studies}},
  journal = {Neurology},
  year    = {2018},
  doi     = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000006079},
  pmid    = {30068634},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000006079}
}

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Key findings

Results The final sample size consisted of 3,575 persons (age range 63.4-73.2 years, 50.6% women).
Total ePVS counts were not significantly associated with MMSE score (mean difference per ePVS score increase 0.001, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.007 to 0.008, p = 0.885) or G-factor (mean difference per ePVS score increase 0.002, 95% CI -0.001 to 0.006, p = 0.148) in age-, sex-, and education-adjusted models.
Adjustments for cardiovascular risk factors and MRI markers did not change the results.
Repeating the analyses with region-specific ePVS rendered similar results.
Conclusions In this study, we found that ePVS counts were not associated with cognitive dysfunction in the general population.

Why it matters

In a meta-analysis of 5 population-based studies with 3,575 people without dementia, enlarged perivascular spaces were not significantly associated with cognitive function as measured by MMSE or a general fluid cognitive ability factor. Adjustments for cardiovascular risk factors and MRI markers did not change these results.

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Study details

Study designmeta-analysis
Participants3,575
Effect size50.6%
Evidence strengthHigh

How this study scored 75/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology)
Journal's citation record	4 / 4	Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	12 / 12	A meta-analysis pooling many studies
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	2 / 5	2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	3 / 4	3,575 participants
Effect reported	2 / 3	Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	A review of other studies — randomization is not credited here
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 133 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	13.3 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018
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 12 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 46 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author M. Arfan Ikram: h-index 167 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Erasmus MC: institution h-index 1,321 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30068634)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	75 / 100	—

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