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Prevalence and impact of medical comorbidity in Alzheimer's disease
Doraiswamy PM, Leon J, Cummings JL, Marin D, Neumann PJ.. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2002-03-01
Topic: Health services, long-term care and technology
Background We examined the prevalence of comorbid medical illnesses in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients at different severity levels. We also examined the effect of cumulative medical comorbidity on cognition and function. Methods Analyses of data from 679 AD patients (Mini-Mental State Exam score range 0-30, mean +/- SD = 11.8 +/- 8) from 13 sites (four dementia centers assessing outpatients, four managed care organizations, two assisted living facilities, and three nursing homes) prospectively recruited using a stratification approach including dementia severity and care setting. Medical comorbidity was quantified using the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale-Geriatric. Results Across patients, 61% had three or more comorbid medical illnesses. Adjusting for age, gender, race, and care setting, medical comorbidity increased with dementia severity (mild to moderate, p <.01; moderate to severe, p <.001). Adjusting for age, educational level, gender, race, and care setting, higher medical comorbidity was associated with greater impairment in cognition (p <.001) and in self-care (p <.001). Conclusions Despite the limitation of a cross-sectional design, our initial findings suggest that there is a strong association between medical comorbidity and cognitive status in AD. Optimal management of medical illnesses may offer potential to improve cognition in AD.
Key findings
- Results Across patients, 61% had three or more comorbid medical illnesses.
- Adjusting for age, educational level, gender, race, and care setting, higher medical comorbidity was associated with greater impairment in cognition (p <.001) and in self-care (p <.001).
- Conclusions Despite the limitation of a cross-sectional design, our initial findings suggest that there is a strong association between medical comorbidity and cognitive status in AD.
Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, 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 25 of the 58 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 journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| 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 | 2002 — 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 | — / 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 | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 11867654) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 25 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 25 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 43 out of 100. |
| Total | 43 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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APA 7th
Doraiswamy, P. M., Leon, J., Cummings, J. L., Marin, D., & Neumann, P. J. (2002). Prevalence and impact of medical comorbidity in Alzheimer's disease. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/57.3.m173
Vancouver
Doraiswamy PM, Leon J, Cummings JL, Marin D, Neumann PJ. Prevalence and impact of medical comorbidity in Alzheimer's disease. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. 2002. doi:10.1093/gerona/57.3.m173. PMID: 11867654.
BibTeX
@article{doraiswamy2002-11867654,
author = {Doraiswamy, P. M. and Leon, J. and Cummings, J. L. and Marin, D. and Neumann, P. J.},
title = {{Prevalence and impact of medical comorbidity in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences},
year = {2002},
doi = {10.1093/gerona/57.3.m173},
pmid = {11867654},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/57.3.m173}
}
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