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Epidemiology of Alzheimer disease
Mayeux R, Stern Y.. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine, 2012-08-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
The global prevalence of dementia has been estimated to be as high as 24 million, and is predicted to double every 20 years until at least 2040. As the population worldwide continues to age, the number of individuals at risk will also increase, particularly among the very old. Alzheimer disease is the leading cause of dementia beginning with impaired memory. The neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer disease include diffuse and neuritic extracellular amyloid plaques in brain that are frequently surrounded by dystrophic neurites and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles. The etiology of Alzheimer disease remains unclear, but it is likely to be the result of both genetic and environmental factors. In this review we discuss the prevalence and incidence rates, the established environmental risk factors, and the protective factors, and briefly review genetic variants predisposing to disease.
Key findings
- The etiology of Alzheimer disease remains unclear, but it is likely to be the result of both genetic and environmental factors.
Why it matters
This review states that the cause of Alzheimer's disease remains unclear and is likely due to both genetic and environmental factors. It discusses prevalence, incidence, and risk and protective factors but reports no treatment or cure.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Alzheimer's in numbers →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 51/100
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. We have no data on impact for its field and year, so that was left out: it earned 48 of the 94 points we could judge it on, which is 51 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine: journal h-index 197 (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 | 2012 — 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 1,067 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 66.7 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 23 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 146 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 | 2 / 3 | Columbia University: institution h-index 1,824 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22908189) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 48 / 94 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 48 of the 94 points we could judge it on is 51 out of 100. |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a006239
- PubMed: 22908189
- Original source →
- Free full text: Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine →
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
Mayeux, R., & Stern, Y. (2012). Epidemiology of Alzheimer disease. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a006239
Vancouver
Mayeux R, Stern Y. Epidemiology of Alzheimer disease. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine. 2012. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a006239. PMID: 22908189.
BibTeX
@article{mayeux2012-22908189,
author = {Mayeux, R. and Stern, Y.},
title = {{Epidemiology of Alzheimer disease}},
journal = {Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1101/cshperspect.a006239},
pmid = {22908189},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a006239}
}
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