Home › Research › Cognitive tests and assessment
Increased risk of cognitive and functional decline in patients with atrial fibrillation: results of the ONTARGET and TRANSCEND studies
Marzona I, O'Donnell M, Teo K, Gao P, Anderson C, Bosch J, Yusuf S.. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 2012-02-27
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background The role of atrial fibrillation in cognitive impairment and dementia, independent of stroke, is uncertain. We sought to determine the association of atrial fibrillation with cognitive and physical impairment in a large group of patients at high cardiovascular risk. Methods We conducted a post-hoc analysis of two randomized controlled trials involving 31,546 patients, the aims of which were to evaluate the efficacy of treatment with ramipril plus telmisartan (ONTARGET) or telmisartan alone (TRANSCEND) in reducing cardiovascular disease.
Key findings
- We sought to determine the association of atrial fibrillation with cognitive and physical impairment in a large group of patients at high cardiovascular risk.
- Methods We conducted a post-hoc analysis of two randomized controlled trials involving 31,546 patients, the aims of which were to evaluate the efficacy of treatment with ramipril plus telmisartan (ONTARGET) or telmisartan alone (TRANSCEND) in reducing cardiovascular disease.
- We evaluated the cognitive function of participants at baseline and after two and five years using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).
- In addition, we recorded incident dementia, loss of independence in activities of daily living and admission to long-term care facilities.
Why it matters
In a post-hoc analysis of two large trials of 31,546 patients at high cardiovascular risk, atrial fibrillation was associated with a higher risk of cognitive and functional decline. This shows an association only and does not show that treating atrial fibrillation prevents Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Study designpost-hoc analysis
- Participants31,506
- Effect size70.4%; 3.3%; 6.5%
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, so that was left out: it earned 57 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 59 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | Design recorded as “post-hoc analysis”, which our rubric does not rank (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” 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 | 4 / 4 | 31,506 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 238 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 14.9 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 11.3× 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 | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Salim Yusuf: h-index 262 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | McMaster University: institution h-index 1,334 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 5 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22371515) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 57 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 57 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 59 out of 100. |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.111173
- PubMed: 22371515
- Original source →
- Free full text: Canadian Medical Association Journal →
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 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.
APA 7th
Marzona, I., O'Donnell, M., Teo, K., Gao, P., Anderson, C., Bosch, J., et al. (2012). Increased risk of cognitive and functional decline in patients with atrial fibrillation: results of the ONTARGET and TRANSCEND studies. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.111173
Vancouver
Marzona I, O'Donnell M, Teo K, Gao P, Anderson C, Bosch J, et al. Increased risk of cognitive and functional decline in patients with atrial fibrillation: results of the ONTARGET and TRANSCEND studies. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne. 2012. doi:10.1503/cmaj.111173. PMID: 22371515.
BibTeX
@article{marzona2012-22371515,
author = {Marzona, I. and O'Donnell, M. and Teo, K. and Gao, P. and Anderson, C. and Bosch, J. and Yusuf, S.},
title = {{Increased risk of cognitive and functional decline in patients with atrial fibrillation: results of the ONTARGET and TRANSCEND studies}},
journal = {CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1503/cmaj.111173},
pmid = {22371515},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.111173}
}
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
6 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Cognitive tests and assessment
Also tagged “cognitive-function”
1,118 studies in the library carry the topic tag “cognitive-function”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,118 tagged studies.