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Executive decline and dysfunction precedes declines in memory: the Women's Health and Aging Study II
Carlson MC, Xue QL, Zhou J, Fried LP.. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2009-01-31
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Understanding preclinical transitions to impairment in cognitive abilities associated with risks for functional difficulty and dementia. This study characterized in the Women's Health and Aging Study (WHAS) II 9-year declines and transitions to impairment across domains of cognition. Methods The WHAS II is an observational study of initially high-functioning, community-dwelling women aged 70-80 years at baseline.
Key findings
- This study characterized in the Women's Health and Aging Study (WHAS) II 9-year declines and transitions to impairment across domains of cognition.
- Methods The WHAS II is an observational study of initially high-functioning, community-dwelling women aged 70-80 years at baseline.
- Random-effects models jointly compared rates of decline, and discrete-time Cox models estimated hierarchies of incident clinical impairment on measures of psychomotor speed and executive function (EF) using the Trail Making Test and in immediate and delayed verbal recall using the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test.
- Patterns of transition were related to incidence of global cognitive impairment on the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE).
Why it matters
This observational study of initially high-functioning women aged 70-80 characterized 9-year declines and transitions to impairment across cognitive domains. The provided text does not report the results, so it is unclear which cognitive abilities declined first.
Study details
- Effect size23.7%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 46/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, 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 (The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | The Journals of Gerontology Series A: journal h-index 274 (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 | 2009 — 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 | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| 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 155 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 8.2 citations a year over 19 year(s) since 2009 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.6× 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 | 2 / 4 | Cited 20 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Linda P. Fried: h-index 130 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Johns Hopkins University: institution h-index 2,306 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 19182230) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 46 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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
Carlson, M. C., Xue, Q. L., Zhou, J., & Fried, L. P. (2009). Executive decline and dysfunction precedes declines in memory: the Women's Health and Aging Study II. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/gln008
Vancouver
Carlson MC, Xue QL, Zhou J, Fried LP. Executive decline and dysfunction precedes declines in memory: the Women's Health and Aging Study II. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. 2009. doi:10.1093/gerona/gln008. PMID: 19182230.
BibTeX
@article{carlson2009-19182230,
author = {Carlson, M. C. and Xue, Q. L. and Zhou, J. and Fried, L. P.},
title = {{Executive decline and dysfunction precedes declines in memory: the Women's Health and Aging Study II}},
journal = {The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.1093/gerona/gln008},
pmid = {19182230},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/gln008}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.