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Multimodal latent composites are associated with cognition and Alzheimer’s disease dementia: a framework for systems-level brain health
Rowsthorn E, Xia Y, Breakspear M, Fripp J, Robinson GA, Ashton N, Zetterberg H, Lupton MK et al.. medRxiv, 2026-02-23
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
Compared to the CN group, both MCI (β=−1.25, SE=0.19, p <.001) and AD dementia (β=−1.52, SE=0.16, p <.001) participants had lower Brain & Vascular Health composite scores. Across all participants, Brain & Vascular Health and Blood Biomarkers composite scores were associated with tests of cognition ( p <.0125), while WM Fluid Dysregulation did not show any significant associations. These findings demonstrate that reproducible, multimodal composites can index distinct yet complementary dimensions of brain health relevant to cognition and AD dementia.
Key findings
- Compared to the CN group, both MCI (β=−1.25, SE=0.19, p <.001) and AD dementia (β=−1.52, SE=0.16, p <.001) participants had lower Brain & Vascular Health composite scores.
- Across all participants, Brain & Vascular Health and Blood Biomarkers composite scores were associated with tests of cognition ( p <.0125), while WM Fluid Dysregulation did not show any significant associations.
- These findings demonstrate that reproducible, multimodal composites can index distinct yet complementary dimensions of brain health relevant to cognition and AD dementia.
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Study details
- Participants197
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 32 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 20 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 32 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (medRxiv) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| 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 | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 197 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 | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 20 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 20 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 32 out of 100. |
| Total | 32 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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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
Rowsthorn, E., Xia, Y., Breakspear, M., Fripp, J., Robinson, G. A., Ashton, N., et al. (2026). Multimodal latent composites are associated with cognition and Alzheimer’s disease dementia: a framework for systems-level brain health. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.21.26346745
Vancouver
Rowsthorn E, Xia Y, Breakspear M, Fripp J, Robinson GA, Ashton N, et al. Multimodal latent composites are associated with cognition and Alzheimer’s disease dementia: a framework for systems-level brain health. medRxiv. 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.02.21.26346745.
BibTeX
@article{rowsthorn2026-13371cc5,
author = {Rowsthorn, E. and Xia, Y. and Breakspear, M. and Fripp, J. and Robinson, G. A. and Ashton, N. and Zetterberg, H. and Lupton, M. K. and others},
title = {{Multimodal latent composites are associated with cognition and Alzheimer’s disease dementia: a framework for systems-level brain health}},
journal = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.02.21.26346745},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.21.26346745}
}
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