Home › Research › Brain tissue and pathology
The Association Between Quantitative Measures of Dementia and of Senile Change in the Cerebral Grey Matter of Elderly Subjects
Garry Blessed, B. E. Tomlinson, Martin Roth. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 1968-07-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The ageing of many populations in recent years has directed increasing attention to the social, medical and biological problems of senescence. The psychological changes associated with ageing occupy a central position in inquiries in this field. The expectation of mental disorder shows a steep increase with advancing chronological age, and beyond 75 years a large part of this increase is accounted for by disorders associated with degenerative changes in the central nervous system for which we lack remedies at the present time. Larsson et al . (1963) have estimated that the aggregate morbidity risk for these disorders up to the age of 70 is 0·4 per cent., up to age 75, 1·2 per cent. and up to age 80, 5 per cent. For higher ages estimates were probably less reliable, but the calculated risk up to the age of 90 was 5·2 per cent. In a survey of a random sample of elderly people aged 65 and over in the general population, Kay et al . (1964), found a total of 4·2 per cent. of elderly subjects to be suffering from senile dementia, 2·9 per cent. being mild cases. The condition is generally recognized as being a major cause of serious infirmity among the elderly in psychiatric, geriatric, general medical and community practice alike.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Blessed, G., Tomlinson, B. E., & Roth, M. (1968). The Association Between Quantitative Measures of Dementia and of Senile Change in the Cerebral Grey Matter of Elderly Subjects. The British Journal of Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.114.512.797
Vancouver
Blessed G, Tomlinson BE, Roth M. The Association Between Quantitative Measures of Dementia and of Senile Change in the Cerebral Grey Matter of Elderly Subjects. The British Journal of Psychiatry. 1968. doi:10.1192/bjp.114.512.797. PMID: 5662937.
BibTeX
@article{blessed1968-5662937,
author = {Blessed, Garry and Tomlinson, B. E. and Roth, Martin},
title = {{The Association Between Quantitative Measures of Dementia and of Senile Change in the Cerebral Grey Matter of Elderly Subjects}},
journal = {The British Journal of Psychiatry},
year = {1968},
doi = {10.1192/bjp.114.512.797},
pmid = {5662937},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.114.512.797}
}
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.
Key findings
- The psychological changes associated with ageing occupy a central position in inquiries in this field.
- The expectation of mental disorder shows a steep increase with advancing chronological age, and beyond 75 years a large part of this increase is accounted for by disorders associated with degenerative changes in the central nervous system for which we lack remedies at the present time.
Why it matters
This paper discusses the steep increase in mental disorder with advancing age, noting that beyond 75 years much of this increase is accounted for by disorders associated with degenerative changes in the central nervous system for which remedies are lacking at the present time. It cites survey estimates of senile dementia prevalence in elderly populations.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 53/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The British Journal of Psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | The British Journal of Psychiatry: journal h-index 376 (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 | 1968 — 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 4,134 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 68.9 citations a year over 60 year(s) since 1968 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 16.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 5 / 6 | Cited by 186 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 124 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Martin Roth: h-index 61 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Medical Research Council: institution h-index 1,249 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 5662937) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Related
Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.
Later studies that cite this one
186 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.
Related studies in Brain tissue and pathology
Also tagged “prevalence”
1,223 studies in the library carry the topic tag “prevalence”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,223 tagged studies.