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Memory impairment on free and cued selective reminding predicts dementia
Grober E, Lipton RB, Hall C, Crystal H.. Neurology, 2000-02-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective To estimate the relative rates of dementia in initially nondemented subjects with and without memory impairment defined by baseline free recall from the Free and Cued Selective Reminding (FCSR) test. Background Our approach to identifying persons at high risk for future dementia is to show the presence of memory impairment not caused by other cognitive deficits by using a memory test that controls attention and cognitive processing. When the conditions of testing are not adequately controlled, prediction is reduced because age-associated memory deficits due to other cognitive deficits are confused with dementia-associated memory deficits. Methods Longitudinal evaluation of 264 initially nondemented, elderly community volunteers from the Einstein Aging Study with clinical and psychometric examinations every 12 to 18 months for up to 10 years. Main outcome measures Dementia was defined by an algorithmic definition that required a Blessed Information Memory and Concentration score >8 and clinical evidence of functional decline. Results Thirty-two incident cases of dementia developed during follow-up. Survival analyses indicated that subjects with impaired free recall at baseline had dementia develop (relative risk = 75.2, 95% CI = 9.9 to 567) over 5 years of follow-up at dramatically higher rates than subjects with intact free recall after adjusting for age, gender, and education. Conclusion Poor performance on free recall from FCSR predicts future dementia. These findings support the existence of a preclinical phase of dementia characterized by memory impairment, which is present for at least 5 years before diagnosis.
Key findings
- Results Thirty-two incident cases of dementia developed during follow-up.
- Survival analyses indicated that subjects with impaired free recall at baseline had dementia develop (relative risk = 75.2, 95% CI = 9.9 to 567) over 5 years of follow-up at dramatically higher rates than subjects with intact free recall after adjusting for age, gender, and education.
- These findings support the existence of a preclinical phase of dementia characterized by memory impairment, which is present for at least 5 years before diagnosis.
Why it matters
In initially nondemented older volunteers, impaired free recall on the Free and Cued Selective Reminding test predicted a much higher rate of developing dementia over five years. This supports the idea of a preclinical phase of dementia marked by memory impairment, but it does not show how to treat, cure, or prevent it.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same 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 | 2000 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 396 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 14.1 citations a year over 28 year(s) since 2000 |
| 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 18 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 44 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Howard Crystal: h-index 38 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Albert Einstein College of Medicine: institution h-index 973 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 10690971) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
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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
Grober, E., Lipton, R. B., Hall, C., & Crystal, H. (2000). Memory impairment on free and cued selective reminding predicts dementia. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.54.4.827
Vancouver
Grober E, Lipton RB, Hall C, Crystal H. Memory impairment on free and cued selective reminding predicts dementia. Neurology. 2000. doi:10.1212/wnl.54.4.827. PMID: 10690971.
BibTeX
@article{grober2000-10690971,
author = {Grober, E. and Lipton, R. B. and Hall, C. and Crystal, H.},
title = {{Memory impairment on free and cued selective reminding predicts dementia}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2000},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.54.4.827},
pmid = {10690971},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.54.4.827}
}
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