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44/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 44 out of 100. Risk factors

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Plain-language summary

The purpose of the research was to demonstrate that comorbid health conditions disproportionately affect elderly cancer patients. Descriptive analyses and stacked area charts were used to examine the prevalence and severity of comorbid ailments by age of 27,506 newly diagnosed patients treated at one of eight cancer centers between 1998 and 2003. Hypertension was the most common ailment in all patients, diabetes was the second most prevalent ailment in middle-aged patients, and previous solid tumor(s) were the second most prevalent ailment in patients aged 74 and older. Although the prevalence and severity of comorbid ailments including dementia and congestive heart failure increased with age, some comorbidities such as HIV/AIDS and obesity decreased. Advances in cancer interventions have increased survivorship, but the impact of the changing prevalence and severity of comorbidities at different ages has implications for targeted research into targeted clinical and psychosocial interventions.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Low

This study describes how other health conditions, including dementia, become more common with age among cancer patients. It is about patterns of comorbidity and does not test any treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.

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

Piccirillo, J. F., Vlahiotis, A., Barrett, L. B., Flood, K. L., Spitznagel, E. L., & Steyerberg, E. W. (2008). The changing prevalence of comorbidity across the age spectrum. Critical reviews in oncology/hematology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.critrevonc.2008.01.013

Vancouver

Piccirillo JF, Vlahiotis A, Barrett LB, Flood KL, Spitznagel EL, Steyerberg EW. The changing prevalence of comorbidity across the age spectrum. Critical reviews in oncology/hematology. 2008. doi:10.1016/j.critrevonc.2008.01.013. PMID: 18375141.

BibTeX

@article{piccirillo2008-18375141,
  author  = {Piccirillo, J. F. and Vlahiotis, A. and Barrett, L. B. and Flood, K. L. and Spitznagel, E. L. and Steyerberg, E. W.},
  title   = {{The changing prevalence of comorbidity across the age spectrum}},
  journal = {Critical reviews in oncology/hematology},
  year    = {2008},
  doi     = {10.1016/j.critrevonc.2008.01.013},
  pmid    = {18375141},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.critrevonc.2008.01.013}
}

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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 gives no participant count. Look for one in the original before trusting a pattern.
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

The purpose of the research was to demonstrate that comorbid health conditions disproportionately affect elderly cancer patients.
Descriptive analyses and stacked area charts were used to examine the prevalence and severity of comorbid ailments by age of 27,506 newly diagnosed patients treated at one of eight cancer centers between 1998 and 2003.
Hypertension was the most common ailment in all patients, diabetes was the second most prevalent ailment in middle-aged patients, and previous solid tumor(s) were the second most prevalent ailment in patients aged 74 and older.
Although the prevalence and severity of comorbid ailments including dementia and congestive heart failure increased with age, some comorbidities such as HIV/AIDS and obesity decreased.
Advances in cancer interventions have increased survivorship, but the impact of the changing prevalence and severity of comorbidities at different ages has implications for targeted research into targeted clinical and psychosocial interventions.

Why it matters

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Study details

Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 44/100

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 (Critical reviews in oncology/hematology)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology: journal h-index 181 (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	2008 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
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	6 / 7	Cited 310 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	15.5 citations a year over 20 year(s) since 2008
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 4.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	0 / 6	No other study in this library cites it
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 43 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Ewout Willem Steyerberg: h-index 178 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Washington University in St. Louis: institution h-index 1,962 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 18375141)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	44 / 100	—

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

Read the original

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