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Subjective cognitive failures and hippocampal volume in elderly with white matter lesions
van Norden AG, Fick WF, de Laat KF, van Uden IW, van Oudheusden LJ, Tendolkar I, Zwiers MP, de Leeuw FE.. Neurology, 2008-10-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Subjective cognitive failures (SCF) and subjective memory failures (SMF) have been reported to be an early predictor of Alzheimer disease (AD) and have been attributed to white matter lesions (WML). Since AD is characterized by hippocampal degeneration, it is surprising that its relation with hippocampal atrophy has been investigated only sparsely. Previous studies on this are rare, limited in sample size, and did not adjust for WML. Objective To determine the relation between SCF and hippocampal volume in strata of objective cognitive performance among elderly without dementia with incidental WML. Methods The Radboud University Nijmegen Diffusion tensor and MRI Cohort study is a prospective cohort study among 503 subjects with WML aged between 50 and 85 years. All subjects underwent FLAIR and T1 MRI scanning. The amount of SCF and SMF was rated by the Cognitive Failure Questionnaire. Cognitive function was assessed by a cognitive screening battery. Volumetric measures of hippocampus and WML were manually performed. We assessed the relation between hippocampal volume and SCF and SMF adjusted for age, sex, education, depression, intracranial volume, and WML volume. Results Subjects with SCF and SMF had lower hippocampal volumes than those without (p = 0.01 and p = 0.02). This was most noteworthy in subjects with good objective cognitive performance (p(trend) = 0.007 and p(trend) = 0.03), and not in those with poor objective cognitive performance. Conclusion Subjective cognitive failures (SCF) are associated with lower hippocampal volume, even in subjects without objective cognitive impairment and independent of white matter lesions. SCF has a radiologic detectable pathologic-anatomic substrate.
Key findings
- Results Subjects with SCF and SMF had lower hippocampal volumes than those without (p = 0.01 and p = 0.02).
- Conclusion Subjective cognitive failures (SCF) are associated with lower hippocampal volume, even in subjects without objective cognitive impairment and independent of white matter lesions.
Why it matters
In elderly people with white matter lesions, those reporting subjective cognitive and memory failures had lower hippocampal volumes, even when objective cognitive performance was good. This links subjective complaints to hippocampal volume independent of white matter lesions, but it does not test any treatment.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants503
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for 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 | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2008 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 503 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 99 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.0 citations a year over 20 year(s) since 2008 |
| 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 | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 8 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Frank Erik de Leeuw: h-index 22 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Radboud University Nijmegen: institution h-index 1,143 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 18838662) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000327564.44819.49
- PubMed: 18838662
- Original source →
- Free full text: Neurology →
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. 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.
APA 7th
van Norden, A. G., Fick, W. F., de Laat, K. F., van Uden, I. W., van Oudheusden, L. J., Tendolkar, I., et al. (2008). Subjective cognitive failures and hippocampal volume in elderly with white matter lesions. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000327564.44819.49
Vancouver
van Norden AG, Fick WF, de Laat KF, van Uden IW, van Oudheusden LJ, Tendolkar I, et al. Subjective cognitive failures and hippocampal volume in elderly with white matter lesions. Neurology. 2008. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000327564.44819.49. PMID: 18838662.
BibTeX
@article{vannorden2008-18838662,
author = {van Norden, A. G. and Fick, W. F. and de Laat, K. F. and van Uden, I. W. and van Oudheusden, L. J. and Tendolkar, I. and Zwiers, M. P. and de Leeuw, F. E.},
title = {{Subjective cognitive failures and hippocampal volume in elderly with white matter lesions}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2008},
doi = {10.1212/01.wnl.0000327564.44819.49},
pmid = {18838662},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000327564.44819.49}
}
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