Home › Research › Mild cognitive impairment
Gender differences in risk factors for transition from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease: A CREDOS study
Kim S, Kim MJ, Kim S, Kang HS, Lim SW, Myung W, Lee Y, Hong CH et al.. Comprehensive psychiatry, 2015-07-09
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Background Women are subject to a disproportionate burden from Alzheimer's disease (AD) and sex differences exist in treatment response and prognosis of the disease. Yet gender-specific risk factors have not been widely studied. We aimed to investigate gender-specific risk factors for AD in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods Participants (n=294) with MCI were recruited from a nationwide, prospective cohort study of dementia and were followed for a median (range) of 13.8 (6.0-36.0) months. Sex-stratified associations of progression to AD with baseline characteristics were explored. Results Seventy-four individuals (25.2%) developed incident dementia (67 AD) during follow-up. Significant risk factors for probable AD differed by sex. In men, the significant risk factors were severe periventricular white matter hyperintensities, and poorer global cognitive function. In women, older age, clinically significant depressive symptoms at baseline, and positive APOE ε4 alleles were the significant risk factors. Conclusions Risk factors for progression from MCI to probable AD differed in men and women. These results may translate to gender-specific preventative or therapeutic strategies for patients with MCI.
Key findings
- Results Seventy-four individuals (25.2%) developed incident dementia (67 AD) during follow-up.
- Significant risk factors for probable AD differed by sex.
- In men, the significant risk factors were severe periventricular white matter hyperintensities, and poorer global cognitive function.
- In women, older age, clinically significant depressive symptoms at baseline, and positive APOE ε4 alleles were the significant risk factors.
- These results may translate to gender-specific preventative or therapeutic strategies for patients with MCI.
Why it matters
In 294 people with mild cognitive impairment followed for a median of about 14 months, risk factors for progressing to Alzheimer's disease differed by sex: in men, severe periventricular white matter hyperintensities and poorer global cognitive function; in women, older age, depressive symptoms and APOE ε4 alleles. The authors suggest these differences may lead to gender-specific prevention or treatment strategies, but no such strategy was tested here.
Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants294
- Effect size25.2%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 60/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Comprehensive psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Comprehensive Psychiatry: journal h-index 177 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following 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 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 294 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 128 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 9.8 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 6 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 25 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Doh Kwan Kim: h-index 33 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Seoul National University: institution h-index 1,053 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 16 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26343475) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 60 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2015.07.002
- PubMed: 26343475
- Original source →
- Free full text: AJOU Open Repository (Ajou University) →
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. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Kim, S., Kim, M. J., Kang, H. S., Lim, S. W., Myung, W., Lee, Y., et al. (2015). Gender differences in risk factors for transition from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease: A CREDOS study. Comprehensive psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2015.07.002
Vancouver
Kim S, Kim MJ, Kang HS, Lim SW, Myung W, Lee Y, et al. Gender differences in risk factors for transition from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease: A CREDOS study. Comprehensive psychiatry. 2015. doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2015.07.002. PMID: 26343475.
BibTeX
@article{kim2015-26343475,
author = {Kim, S. and Kim, M. J. and Kang, H. S. and Lim, S. W. and Myung, W. and Lee, Y. and Hong, C. H. and others},
title = {{Gender differences in risk factors for transition from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease: A CREDOS study}},
journal = {Comprehensive psychiatry},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1016/j.comppsych.2015.07.002},
pmid = {26343475},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2015.07.002}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 18.
Later studies that cite this one
6 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Mild cognitive impairment
Also tagged “biobank”
1,084 studies in the library carry the topic tag “biobank”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,084 tagged studies.