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The Nun Study: Insights from 30 years of aging and dementia research
Kyra M. Clarke, Shahroo Etemadmoghadam, Benjamin Danner, Cole Corbett, Ali Ghaseminejad‐Bandpey, Matthew B Dopler, Julie Parker‐Garza, Mohammad Alhneif et al.. Alzheimer s & Dementia, 2025-02-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The Nun Study is an iconic longitudinal study of aging and dementia on a cohort of 678 Catholic nuns from the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Participants consented to undergoing annual neuropsychological assessments, allowing researchers access to convent archives and medical records and post mortem brain donation. This study investigated the associations between epidemiological factors, cognitive function, and brain pathology. By examining published literature that reports on or utilizes Nun Study data, we provide an overview of its methodology and key findings, emphasizing its significant contributions to understanding cognitive impairment and related neuropathologies. Seminal findings on early-life factors affecting cognitive health, clinicopathological correlations, and apparent resistance and resilience to neuropathology are discussed. Decades of Nun Study research have made critical contributions to our understanding of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and highlight continuing objectives for future research. HIGHLIGHTS: The uniform lifestyles of participants minimized potential confounds of the study. Early-life cognitive ability influenced late-life cognitive outcomes. Some participants with AD pathology did not exhibit dementia. Neuropathological comorbidities were common and increased the risk of dementia.
Key findings
- By examining published literature that reports on or utilizes Nun Study data, we provide an overview of its methodology and key findings, emphasizing its significant contributions to understanding cognitive impairment and related neuropathologies.
Why it matters
This review of 30 years of Nun Study research describes findings such as early-life cognitive ability influencing late-life cognition and some people with Alzheimer's pathology not showing dementia. It summarizes contributions to understanding dementia but reports no treatment or cure.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 52/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer s & Dementia) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (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 | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 22 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 7.3 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 13.9× 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 | 2 / 4 | Cited 22 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Margaret E. Flanagan: h-index 28 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center: institution h-index 883 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 39998266) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 52 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Clarke, K. M., Etemadmoghadam, S., Danner, B., Corbett, C., Ghaseminejad‐Bandpey, A., Dopler, M. B., et al. (2025). The Nun Study: Insights from 30 years of aging and dementia research. Alzheimer s & Dementia. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.14626
Vancouver
Clarke KM, Etemadmoghadam S, Danner B, Corbett C, Ghaseminejad‐Bandpey A, Dopler MB, et al. The Nun Study: Insights from 30 years of aging and dementia research. Alzheimer s & Dementia. 2025. doi:10.1002/alz.14626. PMID: 39998266.
BibTeX
@article{clarke2025-39998266,
author = {Clarke, Kyra M. and Etemadmoghadam, Shahroo and Danner, Benjamin and Corbett, Cole and Ghaseminejad‐Bandpey, Ali and Dopler, Matthew B and Parker‐Garza, Julie and Alhneif, Mohammad and others},
title = {{The Nun Study: Insights from 30 years of aging and dementia research}},
journal = {Alzheimer s \& Dementia},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1002/alz.14626},
pmid = {39998266},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.14626}
}
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