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Poststroke dementia
Leys D, Hénon H, Mackowiak-Cordoliani MA, Pasquier F.. The Lancet. Neurology, 2005-11-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Dementia is one of the major causes of dependency after stroke. The prevalence of poststroke dementia (PSD)-defined as any dementia occurring after stroke-is likely to increase in the future. In community-based studies, the prevalence of PSD in stroke survivors is about 30% and the incidence of new onset dementia after stroke increases from 7% after 1 year 48% after 25 years. Having a stroke doubles the risk of dementia. Patient-related variables associated with an increased risk of PSD are increasing age, low education level, dependency before stroke, prestroke cognitive decline without dementia, diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, epileptic seizures, sepsis, cardiac arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, silent cerebral infarcts, global and medial-temporal-lobe atrophy, and white-matter changes. Stroke-related variables associated with an increased risk of PSD are stroke severity, cause, location, and recurrence. PSD might be the result of vascular lesions, Alzheimer pathology, white-matter changes, or combinations of these. The cause of PSD differs among studies in relation to the mean age of patients, ethnicity, criteria used, and time after stroke. In developed countries, the proportion of patients with presumed Alzheimer's disease among those with PSD is between 19% and 61%. Patients with PSD have high mortality rates and are likely to be functionally impaired. These patients should be treated according to the current guidelines for stroke prevention.
Key findings
- Patient-related variables associated with an increased risk of PSD are increasing age, low education level, dependency before stroke, prestroke cognitive decline without dementia, diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, epileptic seizures, sepsis, cardiac arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, silent cerebral infarcts, global and medial-temporal-lobe atrophy, and white-matter changes.
- Stroke-related variables associated with an increased risk of PSD are stroke severity, cause, location, and recurrence.
- PSD might be the result of vascular lesions, Alzheimer pathology, white-matter changes, or combinations of these.
Why it matters
This review reports that having a stroke doubles the risk of dementia, and that poststroke dementia may result from vascular lesions, Alzheimer pathology, white-matter changes, or combinations of these. It lists many patient-related and stroke-related factors associated with increased risk, and notes that patients with poststroke dementia have high mortality rates.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 51/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, 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 (The Lancet. Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | The Lancet Neurology: journal h-index 457 (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 | 2005 — 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 601 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 26.1 citations a year over 23 year(s) since 2005 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 9.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 25 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 59 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Florence Pasquier: h-index 101 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Université de Lille: institution h-index 708 (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 16239182) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
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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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Leys, D., Hénon, H., Mackowiak-Cordoliani, M. A., & Pasquier, F. (2005). Poststroke dementia. The Lancet. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(05)70221-0
Vancouver
Leys D, Hénon H, Mackowiak-Cordoliani MA, Pasquier F. Poststroke dementia. The Lancet. Neurology. 2005. doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(05)70221-0. PMID: 16239182.
BibTeX
@article{leys2005-16239182,
author = {Leys, D. and Hénon, H. and Mackowiak-Cordoliani, M. A. and Pasquier, F.},
title = {{Poststroke dementia}},
journal = {The Lancet. Neurology},
year = {2005},
doi = {10.1016/s1474-4422(05)70221-0},
pmid = {16239182},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(05)70221-0}
}
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