Each study has a usefulness score out of 100 (rubric version 4.0). Tap a score to see what makes it up.
Highest usefulness score first. Studies without a score come last.
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Meta-analysis of these studies suggests a 29% decreased risk of developing dementia among estrogen users, but the findings of the studies are heterogeneous.
Why it matters
This meta-analysis reports a 29% decreased risk of developing dementia among estrogen users, but notes the findings of the studies are heterogeneous and that studies in women have substantial methodological problems and conflicting results. Trials of estrogen therapy in women with Alzheimer disease had mainly positive results but most were small, of short duration, non-randomised and uncontrolled, so the evidence is preliminary and inconsistent.
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Previously increased blood pressure may increase the risk for dementia by inducing small-vessel disease and white-matter lesions.
Why it matters
Swedish researchers followed 382 people without dementia from age 70 to 85. Those who developed dementia at 79–85 had higher blood pressure at age 70 (average systolic 178 vs 164 mm Hg), and higher diastolic pressure at 70 was also seen in those who went on to develop Alzheimer's disease. Their blood pressure then fell in the years before dementia began, and the authors say it is still unknown whether that fall is a cause or a consequence of the brain disease. This is an observational association: the study tested no treatment and does not show that high or low blood pressure causes dementia.
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69/100
Over a median follow-up of 10·0 years (IQR 5·1-21·3), high physical activity levels were associated with reduced risks of all-cause dementia (n=146 effect sizes; RR 0·80 [95% CI 0·75-0·86]; I 2 =97·4%), Alzheimer's disease (n=59; 0·79 [0·70-0·90]; I 2 =91·3%), and vascular dementia (n=21; 0·71 [0·58-0·87]; I 2 =77·5%); however, associations varied by domain.
Why it matters
High overall physical activity was linked to lower risks of all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia, but the links varied by type of activity. Leisure-time and household activity were linked to lower risk, while occupational and commuting activity were linked to higher risk.
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Adult vaccinations, particularly against herpes zoster, influenza, pneumococcus and Tdap, are associated with a lower risk of dementia.
Why it matters
This meta-analysis of 21 observational studies found that herpes zoster, influenza, pneumococcal and Tdap vaccinations were associated with reduced dementia risk. Because the included studies were observational, these associations do not prove that vaccination prevents dementia.
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MPF (%WC, −2.06 (95% confidence interval (CI), −2.99, −1.13) and UPF (%WC, −1.05 (95% CI, −1.98, −0.13)) resulted in weight loss, with significantly greater %WC on MPF (Δ%WC, −1.01 (95% CI, −1.87, −0.14), P = 0.024; Cohen’s d , −0.48 (95% CI, −0.91, −0.06)).
Why it matters
This randomized crossover feeding trial is about weight and cardiometabolic health, not Alzheimer's disease, and reports no findings on dementia. It found that a minimally processed diet following UK dietary guidelines led to greater weight loss than an ultraprocessed diet.
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69/100
We found no significant association for exposure to nitrogen oxides (five studies, n=241 409, pooled adjusted HR per 10 μg/m 3 increase, 1·05 [0·97-1·13]; I 2 =44%), PM 10 (four studies, n=246 440, pooled adjusted HR per 15 μg/m 3 increase, 1·52 [0·80-2·87]; I 2 =82%), or annual ozone (four studies, n=419 972, pooled adjusted HR per 45 μg/m 3 increase, 0·82 [0·35-1·92]; I 2 =69%), with moderate to considerable heterogeneity between studies in these pooled analyses.
Why it matters
This review found that long-term exposure to fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and black carbon was significantly associated with a dementia diagnosis, while no significant association was found for nitrogen oxides, larger particles, or ozone. The authors note that most included studies had a probable high risk of bias.
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A total of 7731 participants were included in analysis of risk factors measured at age 45 to 54 years (4494 female [58%]; 2207 Black [29%]; 5524 White [71%]), 12 274 contributed to analysis of risk factors measured at age 55 to 64 years (6698 female [55%]; 2886 Black [24%]; 9388 White [76%]), and 6787 contributed to analysis of risk factors measured at age 65 to 74 years (3764 female [56%], 1375 Black [20%]; 5412 White [80%]).
Why it matters
In this cohort, between 22% and 44% of dementia cases by age 80 were attributed to vascular risk factors measured in midlife and late life. This suggests that managing vascular risk factors could play a role in reducing dementia cases, though the study shows association rather than proven cause and effect.
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This review included 24 studies involving 2979 participants (1717 with dysphagia and 1262 controls).
Why it matters
This review of 24 studies found that AI and sensor-based dysphagia screening shows promise for continuous long-term tele-swallowing assessments, but no studies conducted external validation or domain adaptation testing. The evidence is limited by risk of bias in patient selection, index test, and modeling, so real-world applicability remains uncertain.
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The MBI component significantly improved multiple caregiver outcomes, with reduced depressive symptoms (β = -2.13 [95% CI, -2.85 to -1.38]; P Conclusions and relevance In this clinical trial of informal caregivers of people with dementia, synergistic interaction effects were noted for MBI, which enhanced the benefits of SC and BPM on depression.
Why it matters
In this trial of 250 caregivers, the multicomponent intervention reduced depressive symptoms and improved multiple caregiver outcomes. The findings suggest that combining intervention components may help ease depression in people caring for someone with dementia.
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The full analysis set included 159 patients (66 [41.5%] male; mean [SD] age, 75.6 [5.2] years) who received placebo or cilostazol at least once.
Why it matters
In this randomized clinical trial of 159 patients with mild cognitive impairment, there was no statistically significant difference between cilostazol and placebo for the primary outcome. The study did not find cilostazol effective for this purpose.
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Among the 1 637 484 Veterans Health Administration patients, the mean (SD) age was 68.6 (7.7) years, and 1 604 677 (98.0%) were men.
Why it matters
Among 1,637,484 Veterans Health Administration patients, residence in more disadvantaged neighborhoods was associated with higher risk of dementia in adjusted models. This is an observational association between neighborhood disadvantage and dementia risk, not a treatment, cure, or prevention finding.
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EDIC participants had consistently higher brain age values compared with controls without diabetes, indicative of approximately 6 additional years of brain aging (EDIC participants: β, 6.16; SE, 0.71; control participants: β, 1.04; SE, 0.04; P Conclusions and relevance The findings of this study suggest an increase in brain aging among individuals with T1D without any early signs of AD-related neurodegeneration.
Why it matters
This cohort study used neuroimaging to look for markers of brain age and Alzheimer-like atrophy in 416 adults with type 1 diabetes compared with adults without diabetes. It examines brain structure and aging in diabetes rather than testing any treatment, so it does not show how to treat, cure, or prevent Alzheimer's disease.
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The clinical value of current multifactorial algorithms for individualized assessment of dementia risk remains unclear.
Why it matters
This study evaluated how useful four widely used dementia risk scores are for estimating a person's 10-year risk of developing dementia. The results help clarify whether these tools add value in clinical practice, but they do not prevent or treat dementia.
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PM 2.5 might be a risk factor for dementia, as well as nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen oxide, although with more limited data.
Why it matters
Across 51 studies, the overall link between fine particulate air pollution and dementia was not statistically significant, and most studies had a high risk of bias. The authors note their results can still provide current best estimates for burden of disease and regulatory purposes.
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This cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries suggests that use of antihypertensive medications that stimulate type 2 and 4 angiotensin II receptors was associated with lower risk of ADRD compared with antihypertensive medications that inhibit these receptors.
Why it matters
Among Medicare beneficiaries, antihypertensive regimens that stimulate type 2 and 4 angiotensin II receptors were associated with a 16% lower hazard of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias than regimens that inhibit these receptors. This is an association from observational data, not proof that these drugs prevent dementia.
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There were 21 603 to 51 236 patients per year (total for 2010-2020, 381 488 patients) in the OAC-eligible incident AF cohort (mean [SD] age, 77.2 [6.1] to 77.4 [6.8] years; 13 871 [51.8%] to 22 901 [49.8%] women).
Why it matters
This study does not test any treatment for Alzheimer's disease; it looks at how often blood thinners were started in older adults with a newly diagnosed heart rhythm problem called atrial fibrillation. It found that having dementia was linked to lower odds of starting these medications, which are used to prevent strokes, not to treat or prevent Alzheimer's.
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One-hundred and twenty participants, with a mean (range) of 1.2 (1-4) strokes, a mean (SD) of 66.5 (53.8) months since the most recent stroke, mean (SD) baseline age of 70 (8) years, mean (SD) baseline ADAS-Cog-Plus of 0.22 (0.81), and 74 (62%) male participants, were randomized to EX (34 participants), ENRICH (34 participants), or BAT (52 participants).
Why it matters
In 120 adults with chronic stroke, 6 months of exercise training significantly improved cognitive performance compared with a control condition. This is about cognition after stroke, not about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Our prediction model was internally evaluated based on five-fold cross-validation on discrimination and calibration, and it was further compared with existing prediction scales.
Why it matters
This study used machine learning on a large, long-running population sample to build a tool that estimates a person's chance of developing dementia. The authors tested it only inside their own data (five-fold cross-validation, checking both how well it separated people and how accurate its risk estimates were) and compared it with existing risk scales. They say it was validated only in people of European ancestry and White ethnicity and needs testing in independent datasets before the findings can be confirmed; it is a prediction tool, not a treatment or prevention.
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The cohort sample included 5058 beneficiaries with dementia (mean [SD] age, 85.5 [8.0] years; 3038 women [60.1%]; 809 [16.0%] non-Hispanic Black, 357 [7.1%] Hispanic, and 3892 non-Hispanic White respondents [76.9%]).
Why it matters
Among Medicare beneficiaries with dementia, non-Hispanic Black decedents were less likely to use hospice, and a higher proportion of Black and Hispanic decedents used the emergency department. This concerns end-of-life care differences, not treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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The findings of the current study show that the longitudinal, cumulative trajectory of cardiovascular risk is predictive of dementia risk and associated with the emergence of memory decline.
Why it matters
In this long-term cohort, people whose cardiovascular risk rose faster over time had a higher risk of later developing Alzheimer disease dementia or vascular dementia. This suggests that tracking and managing cardiovascular risk over many years may help lower dementia risk, though the study cannot prove cause and effect.
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In this cohort of French older adults, higher adherence to the French MIND diet was associated with a lower dementia risk and with preserved white matter microstructure.
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69/100
Younger family caregivers caring for clinically unstable patients with severe neuropsychiatric symptoms experienced greater burden without informal paid help.
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Random-effects models revealed small but statistically significant effects with better psychological well-being in African American caregivers compared with white caregivers in both population-based (d = -0.22) and convenience sample studies (d = -0.21).
Why it matters
Pooling 159 effects from 38 studies, this review found African American dementia caregivers reported slightly better psychological well-being than white caregivers, and the gap was about the same in population-based (d = -0.22) and convenience samples (d = -0.21) — so it does not look like a by-product of how people were recruited. Hispanic/Latino caregivers reported slightly lower physical well-being than white caregivers (d = 0.12), but that result varied with study quality. The differences are small, only 2 studies were population-based, and the review does not explain why the differences exist.
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However, some individuals have subtle symptoms associated with acute MRI lesions.
Why it matters
This review found that worse white matter hyperintensity severity was associated with apathy, delirium and fatigue, but not consistently with subjective memory complaints. It describes symptom associations with a marker of small vessel disease and does not test any treatment or prevention.
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Ageing of the population, together with population growth, has brought along an ample increase in the number of older individuals living with dementia and disabilities.
Why it matters
This review states that about 40% of dementia cases worldwide could be attributable to 12 modifiable risk factors, indicating prevention potential. It highlights the FINGER trial as the first large randomized controlled trial showing that a multidomain lifestyle-based intervention can prevent cognitive and functional decline in at-risk older adults.
From across this topic
10 of the 7,967 studies in this topic, picked by a fixed rule (a hash of each study's address), not by score or date; each page of this list shows a different 10. The same 10 appear here every time.
- Physical inactivity, cardiometabolic disease, and risk of dementia: an individual-participant meta-analysis
- Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment and Dementia
- HIV-1 associated dementia: symptoms and causes
- Dementia as a predictor of mortality in dialysis patients
- A critical evaluation of the Braak staging scheme for Parkinson's disease
- Frontotemporal lobar degeneration: epidemiology, pathology, diagnosis and management
- Visuospatial memory in healthy elderly, AD and MCI: a review
- Pain and agitation in long-term care residents with dementia: use of the Pittsburgh Agitation Scale
- Glucose tolerance status and risk of dementia in the community: the Hisayama study
- Assessing Palliative Care Needs in Nursing Homes Among Residents With Cognitive Impairment: UPLIFT Trial Findings