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The Rush Memory and Aging Project: study design and baseline characteristics of the study cohort
Bennett DA, Schneider JA, Buchman AS, Mendes de Leon C, Bienias JL, Wilson RS.. Neuroepidemiology, 2005-08-15
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The long-term objective of the Rush Memory and Aging Project is to identify the postmortem indices linking genetic and environmental risk factors to the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The overall study design involves a detailed assessment of risk factors for AD in older persons without known dementia who agree to annual clinical evaluation and organ donation at the time of death. In contrast to other clinical-pathologic studies which are conducted on special populations, the Rush Memory and Aging Project enrolled a cohort with much greater diversity in terms of educational attainment, in addition to gender, race, and ethnicity. From September of 1997 through April of 2005, more than 1,000 older persons without known dementia from more than 30 residential facilities across the Chicago metropolitan area agreed to participate. Their mean age was 81 years, about a third had 12 or fewer years of education, a third were men, and about 10% were members of a racial or ethnic minority group. More than 950 already have completed their baseline clinical evaluation.
Key findings
- The overall study design involves a detailed assessment of risk factors for AD in older persons without known dementia who agree to annual clinical evaluation and organ donation at the time of death.
Why it matters
This 2005 paper sets out how the Rush Memory and Aging Project works: older people in the Chicago area "without known dementia" agree to a clinical check every year and to organ donation at death. The aim is to find the changes seen after death that link genetic and environmental risk factors to Alzheimer's disease. From 1997 to 2005, more than 1,000 people from over 30 residential facilities joined. Their average age was 81; about a third had 12 or fewer years of schooling, a third were men and about 10% belonged to a racial or ethnic minority group. It describes who took part and reports no results about causes, treatment or prevention.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 47/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 45 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 47 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neuroepidemiology) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Neuroepidemiology: journal h-index 125 (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 | 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 | 2005 — 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 406 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 17.7 citations a year over 23 year(s) since 2005 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 8.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 38 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 55 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Rush University Medical Center: institution h-index 670 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16103727) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 45 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 45 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 47 out of 100. |
| Total | 47 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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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
Bennett, D. A., Schneider, J. A., Buchman, A. S., Mendes de Leon, C., Bienias, J. L., & Wilson, R. S. (2005). The Rush Memory and Aging Project: study design and baseline characteristics of the study cohort. Neuroepidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1159/000087446
Vancouver
Bennett DA, Schneider JA, Buchman AS, Mendes de Leon C, Bienias JL, Wilson RS. The Rush Memory and Aging Project: study design and baseline characteristics of the study cohort. Neuroepidemiology. 2005. doi:10.1159/000087446. PMID: 16103727.
BibTeX
@article{bennett2005-16103727,
author = {Bennett, D. A. and Schneider, J. A. and Buchman, A. S. and Mendes de Leon, C. and Bienias, J. L. and Wilson, R. S.},
title = {{The Rush Memory and Aging Project: study design and baseline characteristics of the study cohort}},
journal = {Neuroepidemiology},
year = {2005},
doi = {10.1159/000087446},
pmid = {16103727},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1159/000087446}
}
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