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51/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 51 out of 100. How common it is

Reviewed as evidence on: Transient ischemic attack and dementia risk 3 studies (what the news said). Being listed means the study bears on the question, not that it agrees with the news.

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

We identified 132,968 individuals, of whom 12,088 with severe Zoster, 60,440 matched controls among the general population, and 60,440 matched controls among the hospitalised population. In severe cases of Herpes Zoster, the overall adjusted sub-distributed hazard ratio of dementia was 1.13 (95 % CI 1.07-1.19) compared to the general population, and 1.08 (95 % CI 1.03-1.14) compared to hospitalised population. Hazard ratios were still significant in different strata group, including by sex, age group (including in 50-65 younger adults) and at different follow-up period. Our population-based study found an increased risk of developing dementia among severe Zoster cases. Those results support the importance of improving Zoster prevention and extending the vaccination recommendations to younger age groups.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Blandi, L., Bertuccio, P., Signorelli, C., Brand, H., Clemens, T., Renzi, C., et al. (2025). Herpes zoster as risk factor for dementia: a matched cohort study over 20 years in a 10-million population in Italy. The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer s Disease. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjpad.2025.100167

Vancouver

Blandi L, Bertuccio P, Signorelli C, Brand H, Clemens T, Renzi C, et al. Herpes zoster as risk factor for dementia: a matched cohort study over 20 years in a 10-million population in Italy. The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer s Disease. 2025. doi:10.1016/j.tjpad.2025.100167. PMID: 40222838.

BibTeX

@article{blandi2025-40222838,
  author  = {Blandi, Lorenzo and Bertuccio, Paola and Signorelli, Carlo and Brand, Helmut and Clemens, Timo and Renzi, Cristina and Odone, Anna},
  title   = {{Herpes zoster as risk factor for dementia: a matched cohort study over 20 years in a 10-million population in Italy}},
  journal = {The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer s Disease},
  year    = {2025},
  doi     = {10.1016/j.tjpad.2025.100167},
  pmid    = {40222838},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjpad.2025.100167}
}

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 names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

Key findings

We identified 132,968 individuals, of whom 12,088 with severe Zoster, 60,440 matched controls among the general population, and 60,440 matched controls among the hospitalised population.
In severe cases of Herpes Zoster, the overall adjusted sub-distributed hazard ratio of dementia was 1.13 (95 % CI 1.07-1.19) compared to the general population, and 1.08 (95 % CI 1.03-1.14) compared to hospitalised population.
Hazard ratios were still significant in different strata group, including by sex, age group (including in 50-65 younger adults) and at different follow-up period.
Our population-based study found an increased risk of developing dementia among severe Zoster cases.
Those results support the importance of improving Zoster prevention and extending the vaccination recommendations to younger age groups.

Why it matters

This matched cohort study found an increased risk of developing dementia among severe Zoster cases compared to the general and hospitalised populations. The results support improving Zoster prevention and extending vaccination recommendations to younger age groups.

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Study details

Participants132,968
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 51/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer s Disease)
Journal's citation record	0 / 4	The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer s Disease: journal h-index 63 (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	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	4 / 5	2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	4 / 4	132,968 participants
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
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	2 / 7	Cited 13 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	4.3 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 8.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	1 / 6	Cited by 1 other studies in this library
Still being cited	1 / 4	Cited 13 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Anna Odone: h-index 56 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Maastricht University: institution h-index 876 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 2 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40222838)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	51 / 100	—

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