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Neuropsychological performance in advanced age: influences of demographic factors and Apolipoprotein E: findings from the Cache County Memory Study
Welsh-Bohmer KA, Ostbye T, Sanders L, Pieper CF, Hayden KM, Tschanz JT, Norton MC, Cache Country Study Group.. The Clinical neuropsychologist, 2008-06-10
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The Cache County Study of Memory in Aging (CCMS) is an epidemiological study of Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive disorders, and aging in a population of exceptionally long-lived individuals (7th to 11th decade). Observation of population members without dementia provides an opportunity for establishing the range of normal neurocognitive performance in a representative sample of the very old. We examined neurocognitive performance of the normal participants undergoing full clinical evaluations (n = 507) and we tested the potential modifying effects of apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, a known genetic risk factor for the later development of AD. The results indicate that advanced age and low education are related to lower test scores across nearly all of the neurocognitive measures. Gender and APOE epsilon4 both had negligible and inconsistent influences, affecting only isolated measures of memory and expressive speech (in case of gender). The gender and APOE effects disappeared once age and education were controlled. The study of this exceptionally long-lived population provides useful normative information regarding the broad range of "normal" cognition seen in advanced age. Among elderly without dementia or other cognitive impairment, APOE does not appear to exert any major effects on cognition once other demographic influences are controlled.
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APA 7th
Welsh-Bohmer, K. A., Ostbye, T., Sanders, L., Pieper, C. F., Hayden, K. M., Tschanz, J. T., et al. (2009). Neuropsychological performance in advanced age: influences of demographic factors and Apolipoprotein E: findings from the Cache County Memory Study. The Clinical neuropsychologist. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854040801894730
Vancouver
Welsh-Bohmer KA, Ostbye T, Sanders L, Pieper CF, Hayden KM, Tschanz JT, et al. Neuropsychological performance in advanced age: influences of demographic factors and Apolipoprotein E: findings from the Cache County Memory Study. The Clinical neuropsychologist. 2009. doi:10.1080/13854040801894730. PMID: 18609337.
BibTeX
@article{welshbohmer2009-18609337,
author = {Welsh-Bohmer, K. A. and Ostbye, T. and Sanders, L. and Pieper, C. F. and Hayden, K. M. and Tschanz, J. T. and Norton, M. C. and {Cache Country Study Group}},
title = {{Neuropsychological performance in advanced age: influences of demographic factors and Apolipoprotein E: findings from the Cache County Memory Study}},
journal = {The Clinical neuropsychologist},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.1080/13854040801894730},
pmid = {18609337},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/13854040801894730}
}
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 8 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
- The results indicate that advanced age and low education are related to lower test scores across nearly all of the neurocognitive measures.
Why it matters
In older people without dementia, advanced age and low education were linked to lower test scores across nearly all neurocognitive measures, while APOE epsilon4 had negligible and inconsistent effects once age and education were controlled. This provides information about normal cognition in advanced age rather than a treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Participants507
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 41 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 43 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Clinical neuropsychologist) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | The Clinical Neuropsychologist: journal h-index 128 (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 | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2009 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 507 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 | 4 / 7 | Cited 66 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.5 citations a year over 19 year(s) since 2009 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.4× 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 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author for the Cache Country Study Group holds only 1 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Duke University: institution h-index 1,541 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 18609337) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 41 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 41 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 43 out of 100. |
| Total | 43 / 100 | — |
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