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Premorbid cognitive leisure independently contributes to cognitive reserve in multiple sclerosis
Sumowski JF, Wylie GR, Gonnella A, Chiaravalloti N, Deluca J.. Neurology, 2010-10-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective Consistent with the cognitive reserve hypothesis, higher education and vocabulary help persons with Alzheimer disease (AD) and multiple sclerosis (MS) better withstand neuropathology before developing cognitive impairment. Also, premorbid cognitive leisure (e.g., reading, hobbies) is an independent source of cognitive reserve for elders with AD, but there is no research on the contribution of leisure activity to cognition in MS. We investigated whether premorbid cognitive leisure protects patients with MS from cognitive impairment. Methods Premorbid cognitive leisure was surveyed in 36 patients with MS. Neurologic disease severity was estimated with brain atrophy, measured as third ventricle width on high-resolution MRI. Cognitive status was measured with a composite score of processing speed and memory. Results Controlling for brain atrophy, premorbid cognitive leisure was positively associated with current cognitive status (r(p) = 0.49, p 0.5), but a positive partial correlation between leisure and atrophy emerged when controlling for cognitive status (r(p) = 0.37, p Conclusions Premorbid cognitive leisure contributes to cognitive status in patients with MS independently of vocabulary and education. Also, patients with MS who engaged in more cognitive leisure were able to withstand more severe brain atrophy at a given cognitive status. Premorbid cognitive leisure is supported as an independent source of cognitive reserve in patients with MS.
Key findings
- Results Controlling for brain atrophy, premorbid cognitive leisure was positively associated with current cognitive status (r(p) = 0.49, p < 0.01), even when controlling for vocabulary (r(p) = 0.39, p < 0.05) and education (r(p) = 0.47, p < 0.01).
Why it matters
This study in people with multiple sclerosis found that premorbid cognitive leisure was associated with better current cognitive status independent of brain atrophy. It relates to the cognitive reserve hypothesis, which is also studied in Alzheimer's disease, but it does not test a treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Participants36
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 47/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported 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 | 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 | 2010 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 36 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 93 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.2 citations a year over 18 year(s) since 2010 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 9 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author John DeLuca: h-index 86 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Columbia University: institution h-index 1,824 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 20956787) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 47 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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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
Sumowski, J. F., Wylie, G. R., Gonnella, A., Chiaravalloti, N., & Deluca, J. (2010). Premorbid cognitive leisure independently contributes to cognitive reserve in multiple sclerosis. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e3181f881a6
Vancouver
Sumowski JF, Wylie GR, Gonnella A, Chiaravalloti N, Deluca J. Premorbid cognitive leisure independently contributes to cognitive reserve in multiple sclerosis. Neurology. 2010. doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e3181f881a6. PMID: 20956787.
BibTeX
@article{sumowski2010-20956787,
author = {Sumowski, J. F. and Wylie, G. R. and Gonnella, A. and Chiaravalloti, N. and Deluca, J.},
title = {{Premorbid cognitive leisure independently contributes to cognitive reserve in multiple sclerosis}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0b013e3181f881a6},
pmid = {20956787},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e3181f881a6}
}
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