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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There was a significant interaction (P = 0.024) between B vitamin treatment and plasma combined ω-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) on brain atrophy rates.
Why it matters
In a 2-year trial of 168 people aged 70+ with mild cognitive impairment, high-dose B vitamins slowed brain shrinkage on MRI by 40% compared with placebo, but only in people whose blood omega-3 levels were already high (above 590 μmol/L). In people with lower omega-3 levels there was no significant effect. The authors say this points to finding subgroups likely to benefit. It is a retrospective analysis of one trial, it measured brain shrinkage rather than dementia, and it does not show that B vitamins or omega-3 prevent Alzheimer's disease.
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Epidemiologic evidence suggests that cognitive and physical activities are associated with better cognition in late life.
Why it matters
This 12-month cluster randomized controlled trial assigned 555 community-dwelling Chinese older adults with mild cognitive impairment to four structured lifestyle activity interventions to see if they improved cognition. It tests lifestyle activities for cognition in mild cognitive impairment, not a treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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The Internet course 'Mastery over Dementia' offers an effective treatment for family caregivers of people with dementia reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Why it matters
This randomized controlled trial found that an internet intervention for family caregivers of people with dementia significantly reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety compared with a minimal e-bulletin intervention. It is about caregiver support and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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However, further research is needed with studies using larger sample sizes, standardized measurement outcomes, and longer follow-up periods, to inform evidence-based recommendations.
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Studies were significantly heterogeneous in terms of country, outcomes assessed, and the timing of post-ED outcome assessments.
Why it matters
This systematic review of 34 studies found that none of the risk factors or screening instruments significantly increased or decreased the risk of adverse outcomes for older emergency department patients. It reports no significant effect and does not address treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Diabetes prevention and glucose control in midlife may protect against late-life cognitive decline.
Why it matters
In this cohort of 13,351 adults, diabetes in midlife was linked to 19% greater cognitive decline over 20 years, and decline was also greater in people with prediabetes. This supports the idea that controlling blood sugar in midlife may help slow cognitive decline, though the study shows an association rather than proving that treatment prevents dementia.
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The intervention effect was found in delayed verbal memory.
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67/100
Cardiovascular activity has been shown to be positively associated with gray and white matter volume of, amongst others, frontal and temporal brain regions in older adults.
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A diagnosis of COPD is associated with an increased risk for MCI, particularly NA-MCI.
Why it matters
In this prospective study of 1,425 cognitively normal people aged 70 to 89, a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was examined as a potentially modifiable risk factor for developing mild cognitive impairment and its subtypes. The study addresses risk rather than treatment, and does not show that treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease prevents mild cognitive impairment.
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DSD is a strong predictor of functional dependence, institutionalization, and mortality in older patients admitted to a rehabilitation setting, suggesting that strategies to detect DSD routinely in practice should be developed and DSD should be included in prognostic models of health care.
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During the last decades, schizophrenia has been regarded as a developmental disorder.
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In older adults with multiple dementia risk factors, group-based CCT is a safe and effective intervention for enhancing overall cognition, memory and processing speed.
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A combination of modifiable vascular risk factors in midlife is highly predictive of the likelihood of dementia decades later.
Why it matters
In 9,480 Kaiser Permanente members aged 40-55 in 1964-1973, the CAIDE midlife score (age, education, hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol) predicted dementia diagnoses about 36 years later about as well as in the original study (C statistic 0.75 vs 0.78), including within different race groups. People in the lowest and highest score groups had a 9% and 29% 40-year dementia risk. Adding smoking, diabetes, depressed mood, head trauma, central obesity or lung function did not improve prediction. This is a prediction study: it did not test whether changing any of these factors lowers dementia risk.
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A total of 2320 unique papers was found; the full text of 87 was reviewed.
Why it matters
This systematic review found that prevalences of dementia and cognitive impairment in sub-Saharan Africa varied widely, with few published studies. It summarizes prevalence data only and does not test any treatment, cure or prevention.
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Overall estimates of the treatment effect were calculated by using a fixed-effects model, and statistical heterogeneity was measured by using a standard chi-squared statistic.
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Our results suggest that higher glucose levels may be a risk factor for dementia, even among persons without diabetes.
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In this large study of older women, we observed no association of the Mediterranean diet with cognitive decline.
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NHs appear to provide less-aggressive end-of-life care to decedents with dementia than to those without.
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67/100
Study objectives To investigate the effect of an eight-week, home-based, personalized, computerized cognitive training program on sleep quality and cognitive performance among older adults with insomnia.
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Five databases were searched for English-language studies up to August 2010, and included all study designs with a comparative group.
Why it matters
This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the association between cognitive function and dementia with vitamin D concentration in adults. The record does not state the results, so no conclusion about vitamin D and dementia can be drawn from this text.
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Previous conclusions of a lack of efficacy for cognitive training in MCI may have been influenced by not clearly defining the intervention.
Why it matters
This review of ten small cognitive training studies in people with mild cognitive impairment found moderate effects on memory outcomes, with cognitive exercises possibly giving greater benefit than memory strategies. The studies were few and varied, and the review does not show that training prevents dementia.
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Interventions using educational outreach, on-site education given alone or as part of an intervention package and pharmacist medication review may under certain circumstances reduce inappropriate drug use, but the evidence is of low quality.
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A mortality risk score derived from MDS data predicted six-month survival in advanced dementia with moderate accuracy.
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An overall rating of the quality of evidence was assigned by using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) criteria.
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The prediction of dementia in AD by SMI with subsequent amnestic MCI supports the model of a consecutive 3-stage clinical manifestation of AD from SMI via MCI to dementia.
Why it matters
In this cohort of people aged 75 and older without cognitive impairment, subjective memory impairment with worry was linked to a higher risk of later dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease. This suggests such complaints may help predict dementia but does not test a treatment, cure, or prevention.
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.
- Health inequalities in disease burden of dementia and early-onset dementia: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study
- Enhancing memory in late-life depression: the effects of a combined psychoeducation and cognitive training program
- Vascular risk factors, cognitive decline, and dementia
- Cerebral Small Vessel Disease, Hypertension, and Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia
- Caregiver health: health of caregivers of Alzheimer's and other dementia patients
- Green Banana*: Dementia Epidemiology Research: It Is Time to Modify the Focus of Research
- Lifestyle and Breast Cancer: Prevention and Treatment Support
- Prevalence and Risk Factors for Delirium on Arrival at the Emergency Room by Ambulance
- The global prevalence of oropharyngeal dysphagia in different populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Unsupervised Machine Learning to Identify High Likelihood of Dementia in Population-Based Surveys: Development and Validation Study