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Sense of meaning and purpose in life and risk of incident dementia: New data and meta-analysis
Sutin DAR, Luchetti M, Aschwanden D, Stephan Y, Sesker AA, Terracciano A.. Archives of gerontology and geriatrics, 2022-10-23
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Purpose A greater sense of meaning and purpose in life is associated with lower dementia risk. The present research examines meaning and incident dementia in the largest sample to date, the UK Biobank, and combines the findings with the published literature on meaning/purpose and dementia risk in a meta-analysis. Method Participants from the UK Biobank reported on their meaning in life in the 2016/2017 mental health assessment (N=153,445).
Key findings
- The present research examines meaning and incident dementia in the largest sample to date, the UK Biobank, and combines the findings with the published literature on meaning/purpose and dementia risk in a meta-analysis.
- Method Participants from the UK Biobank reported on their meaning in life in the 2016/2017 mental health assessment (N=153,445).
- All-cause and cause-specific dementia were derived from hospital and death records through November 2021.
- Cox regression was used to test the association between meaning in life and risk of incident dementia.
Why it matters
This research combined UK Biobank data from 153,445 people with published studies in a meta-analysis to examine whether a greater sense of meaning and purpose in life is linked to lower dementia risk. Because it is observational, it cannot prove that having more meaning in life prevents dementia.
Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Participants153,445
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 66/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Archives of gerontology and geriatrics) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics: journal h-index 132 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2023 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 4 / 4 | 153,445 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 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 67 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 13.4 citations a year over 5 year(s) since 2023 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.7× 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 | 3 / 4 | Cited 52 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Antonio Terracciano: h-index 87 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Florida State University: institution h-index 755 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 36347158) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 66 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2022.104847
- PubMed: 36347158
- Original source →
- Free full text: Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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
Sutin, D. A. R., Luchetti, M., Aschwanden, D., Stephan, Y., Sesker, A. A., & Terracciano, A. (2023). Sense of meaning and purpose in life and risk of incident dementia: New data and meta-analysis. Archives of gerontology and geriatrics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2022.104847
Vancouver
Sutin DAR, Luchetti M, Aschwanden D, Stephan Y, Sesker AA, Terracciano A. Sense of meaning and purpose in life and risk of incident dementia: New data and meta-analysis. Archives of gerontology and geriatrics. 2023. doi:10.1016/j.archger.2022.104847. PMID: 36347158.
BibTeX
@article{sutin2023-36347158,
author = {Sutin, D. A. R. and Luchetti, M. and Aschwanden, D. and Stephan, Y. and Sesker, A. A. and Terracciano, A.},
title = {{Sense of meaning and purpose in life and risk of incident dementia: New data and meta-analysis}},
journal = {Archives of gerontology and geriatrics},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1016/j.archger.2022.104847},
pmid = {36347158},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2022.104847}
}
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