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54/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 54 out of 100. Long-term cohort studies

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Plain-language summary

Background Retinal vessels provide a unique opportunity to study both systemic and cerebrovascular disease. Smaller retinal arteriolar calibers are strongly related to hypertension, whereas larger retinal venular calibers are more related to inflammation, cerebral hypoperfusion, and cerebrovascular disease. Whether retinal vessel calibers are related to dementia remains unclear.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Low

The record lists 5,553 participants. This study investigated whether retinal arteriolar and venular calibers are associated with risk of dementia and its subtypes in a prospective population-based cohort. It is an observational study of a possible risk marker and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.

Taken from this record’s own fields, not from reading the paper. The grade is assigned from the abstract’s wording; what that means.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

de Jong, F. J., Schrijvers, E. M., Ikram, M. K., Koudstaal, P. J., de Jong, P. T., Hofman, A., et al. (2011). Retinal vascular caliber and risk of dementia: the Rotterdam study. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e31820e7baa

Vancouver

de Jong FJ, Schrijvers EM, Ikram MK, Koudstaal PJ, de Jong PT, Hofman A, et al. Retinal vascular caliber and risk of dementia: the Rotterdam study. Neurology. 2011. doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e31820e7baa. PMID: 21288987.

BibTeX

@article{dejong2011-21288987,
  author  = {de Jong, F. J. and Schrijvers, E. M. and Ikram, M. K. and Koudstaal, P. J. and de Jong, P. T. and Hofman, A. and Vingerling, JR. and Breteler, M. M.},
  title   = {{Retinal vascular caliber and risk of dementia: the Rotterdam study}},
  journal = {Neurology},
  year    = {2011},
  doi     = {10.1212/wnl.0b013e31820e7baa},
  pmid    = {21288987},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e31820e7baa}
}

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.

How to read this study

Design: our record does not state a study design, so check the methods section of the original before weighing the result.
Size: the record lists 5,553 participants. Ask whether that is enough for the question, and who they were.
Effect: the record gives no effect size, so the summary above cannot say how large any difference was.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded low. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Low means the abstract matched neither pattern. It is the default label, and it does not mean the work is poor; many sound lab and imaging papers land here. It can add at most 5 of the 100 points in the study score, and it is a label about design, not a verdict on whether the findings are true.

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Key findings

Smaller retinal arteriolar calibers are strongly related to hypertension, whereas larger retinal venular calibers are more related to inflammation, cerebral hypoperfusion, and cerebrovascular disease.
Whether retinal vessel calibers are related to dementia remains unclear.
Methods We investigated whether retinal arteriolar and venular calibers are associated with risk of dementia, and its subtypes Alzheimer disease (AD) and vascular dementia, in the prospective population-based Rotterdam Study.
Digitized retinal images were available in 5,553 participants aged 55 years or over and dementia-free at baseline (1990-1993).

Why it matters

This study investigated whether retinal arteriolar and venular calibers are associated with risk of dementia and its subtypes in a prospective population-based cohort. It is an observational study of a possible risk marker and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.

Study details

Participants5,553
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 54/100

Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomized / 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	2011 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	3 / 4	5,553 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)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 138 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	8.1 citations a year over 17 year(s) since 2011
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 5.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 6 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 27 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Monique M.B. Breteler: h-index 162 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Erasmus MC: institution h-index 1,321 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 21288987)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	54 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

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