Home › Research › Long-term cohort studies
Incidence of dementia: does gender make a difference?
Ruitenberg A, Ott A, van Swieten JC, Hofman A, Breteler MM.. Neurobiology of aging, 2001-07-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Several studies suggested that women are at higher risk of dementia than men. However, that was based on rather limited data. We investigated possible gender differences in the incidence of dementia, Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, in the Rotterdam Study, a large population based prospective cohort study in the Netherlands of 7,046 persons aged 55 years and older, free of dementia at baseline.
Key findings
- However, that was based on rather limited data.
- We investigated possible gender differences in the incidence of dementia, Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, in the Rotterdam Study, a large population based prospective cohort study in the Netherlands of 7,046 persons aged 55 years and older, free of dementia at baseline.
- In 40,441 person-years of follow-up (mean 5.7 years) we identified 395 new cases of dementia (overall incidence: 9.8 per 1,000 person-years).
- Alzheimer's disease was the most frequent subtype of dementia (293 cases; 7.2 per 1,000).
Why it matters
This study investigated whether women are at higher risk of dementia than men by following 7,046 people without dementia. It examined gender differences in the occurrence of dementia, Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, which may inform risk awareness but does not test a treatment.
Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants7,046
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 61/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neurobiology of aging) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Neurobiology of Aging: journal h-index 263 (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 | 2001 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 7,046 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 466 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 17.3 citations a year over 27 year(s) since 2001 |
| 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 28 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 35 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Monique M.B. Breteler: h-index 162 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Erasmus MC: institution h-index 1,321 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 11445258) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 61 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
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
Ruitenberg, A., Ott, A., van Swieten, J. C., Hofman, A., & Breteler, M. M. (2001). Incidence of dementia: does gender make a difference? Neurobiology of aging. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0197-4580(01)00231-7
Vancouver
Ruitenberg A, Ott A, van Swieten JC, Hofman A, Breteler MM. Incidence of dementia: does gender make a difference? Neurobiology of aging. 2001. doi:10.1016/s0197-4580(01)00231-7. PMID: 11445258.
BibTeX
@article{ruitenberg2001-11445258,
author = {Ruitenberg, A. and Ott, A. and van Swieten, J. C. and Hofman, A. and Breteler, M. M.},
title = {{Incidence of dementia: does gender make a difference?}},
journal = {Neurobiology of aging},
year = {2001},
doi = {10.1016/s0197-4580(01)00231-7},
pmid = {11445258},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s0197-4580(01)00231-7}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Later studies that cite this one
28 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.
Related studies in Long-term cohort studies
Also tagged “prevalence”
1,224 studies in the library carry the topic tag “prevalence”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,224 tagged studies.