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64/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 64 out of 100. Disparities

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Objective To describe factors associated with survival in Alzheimer disease (AD) in a multiethnic, population-based longitudinal study. Methods AD cases were identified in the Washington Heights Inwood Columbia Aging Project, a longitudinal, community-based study of cognitive aging in Northern Manhattan. The sample comprised 323 participants who were initially dementia-free but developed AD during study follow-up (incident cases). Participants were followed for an average of 4.1 (up to 12.6) years. Possible factors associated with shorter lifespan were assessed using Cox proportional hazards models with attained age as the time to event (time from birth to death or last follow-up). In subanalyses, median postdiagnosis survival durations were estimated using postdiagnosis study follow-up as the timescale. Results The mortality rate was 10.7 per 100 person-years. Mortality rates were highest [corrected] among those diagnosed at older ages, and among non-Hispanic whites compared to [corrected] Hispanic [corrected] The median lifespan of the entire sample was 92.2 years (95% CI: 90.3, 94.1). In a multivariable-adjusted Cox model, history of diabetes and history of hypertension were independently associated with a shorter lifespan. No differences in lifespan were seen by race/ethnicity after multivariable adjustment. The median postdiagnosis survival duration was 3.7 years among non-Hispanic whites, 4.8 years among African Americans, and 7.6 years among Hispanics. Conclusion Factors influencing survival in Alzheimer disease include race/ethnicity and comorbid diabetes and hypertension.

Key findings

Objective To describe factors associated with survival in Alzheimer disease (AD) in a multiethnic, population-based longitudinal study.
Possible factors associated with shorter lifespan were assessed using Cox proportional hazards models with attained age as the time to event (time from birth to death or last follow-up).
Results The mortality rate was 10.7 per 100 person-years.
Mortality rates were highest [corrected] among those diagnosed at older ages, and among non-Hispanic whites compared to [corrected] Hispanic [corrected] The median lifespan of the entire sample was 92.2 years (95% CI: 90.3, 94.1).
In a multivariable-adjusted Cox model, history of diabetes and history of hypertension were independently associated with a shorter lifespan.

Why it matters

This multiethnic, population-based study of incident Alzheimer's disease cases found that a history of diabetes and a history of hypertension were independently associated with a shorter lifespan. It also found that the median postdiagnosis survival duration was 3.7 years, and that no differences in lifespan were seen by race/ethnicity after multivariable adjustment.

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Study details

Study designlongitudinal study
Participants323
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 64/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same 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 longitudinal study following the same 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	323 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	5 / 7	Cited 245 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	12.2 citations a year over 20 year(s) since 2008
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 5.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	3 / 6	Cited by 28 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 34 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Yaakov Stern: h-index 162 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Columbia University: institution h-index 1,824 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 18981370)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	64 / 100	—

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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

Helzner, E. P., Scarmeas, N., Cosentino, S., Tang, M. X., Schupf, N., & Stern, Y. (2008). Survival in Alzheimer disease: a multiethnic, population-based study of incident cases. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000334278.11022.42

Vancouver

Helzner EP, Scarmeas N, Cosentino S, Tang MX, Schupf N, Stern Y. Survival in Alzheimer disease: a multiethnic, population-based study of incident cases. Neurology. 2008. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000334278.11022.42. PMID: 18981370.

BibTeX

@article{helzner2008-18981370,
  author  = {Helzner, E. P. and Scarmeas, N. and Cosentino, S. and Tang, M. X. and Schupf, N. and Stern, Y.},
  title   = {{Survival in Alzheimer disease: a multiethnic, population-based study of incident cases}},
  journal = {Neurology},
  year    = {2008},
  doi     = {10.1212/01.wnl.0000334278.11022.42},
  pmid    = {18981370},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000334278.11022.42}
}

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