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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The development of MCI is associated with measurements of cognition and depression, racial and constitutional factors, and cerebrovascular disease.
Why it matters
In the Cardiovascular Health Study cohort, mild cognitive impairment was associated with being African American, low education, low cognitive test scores, cortical atrophy, MRI-identified infarcts and depression measures. The amnestic (memory) type of MCI was linked to MRI-identified infarcts, the APOE epsilon4 allele and low Mini-Mental State scores, and the authors describe early cognitive deficits as common to both types. These are associations reported without effect sizes; the study does not show that any factor causes MCI, and it tests no treatment.
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Providing care for a frail older adult has been described as a stressful experience that may erode psychological well-being and physical health of caregivers.
Why it matters
Pooling 84 articles, this 2003 meta-analysis found caregivers of frail older adults differed most from noncaregivers in depression (g = .58), stress (g = .55), self-efficacy (g = .54) and well-being (g = -.40). Physical health was worse than in noncaregivers by a statistically significant but small margin (g = .18). Gaps were larger for dementia caregivers than for mixed caregiver samples, and also varied with study quality, the caregiver's relationship to the person cared for, gender and age. These are group differences, not proof that caregiving caused them.
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Preparations based on special extracts of the Ginkgo biloba tree are popular in various European countries.
Why it matters
In this 24-week trial of 214 elderly patients with dementia or age-associated memory impairment, Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 showed no significant difference from placebo on any outcome measure. Neither the dementia subgroup nor the memory impairment subgroup experienced significant benefit, so the results do not support using Ginkgo for these conditions.
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66/100
This study has shown the MNA to be a more appropriate nutrition assessment tool for older patients when compared to the SGA.
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Twenty-four-week, randomized, multicenter, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Why it matters
This 24-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial tested donepezil in 208 nursing home patients with Alzheimer's disease, using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Nursing Home Version as the primary outcome. It examined a symptomatic treatment for people who already have the disease, not a cure or prevention.
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Purpose of study The authors determined short-term effects of a home environmental intervention on self-efficacy and upset in caregivers and daily function of dementia patients.
Why it matters
In this randomized controlled trial of 171 families, a home environmental intervention led to fewer declines in patients' instrumental activities of daily living and less decline in self-care and fewer behavior problems at 3 months, with some caregiver benefits in certain subgroups. The authors describe the effect as modest, and it addresses daily function and caregiver well-being rather than curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Scores for periventricular hyperintensities in this sample included all possible degrees of severity, but no participant scored more than 75% of maximum for deep white-matter hyperintensities.
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66/100
The Honolulu-Asia Aging Study is a longitudinal study of Japanese-American men living in Hawaii.
Why it matters
This longitudinal study of 3,385 older Japanese-American men examined whether use of vitamin E and C supplements protects against later dementia and poor cognitive functioning. It tests a possible preventive association rather than a treatment or cure.
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Failure to consider vascular cognitive impairment without dementia underestimates the prevalence of impairment and the risk for adverse outcomes associated with vascular cognitive impairment.
Why it matters
In a Canadian study following 10,253 people aged 65 and over for 5 years, the most common form of vascular cognitive impairment among those aged 65 to 84 was memory and thinking trouble that fell short of dementia. People with any vascular cognitive impairment were more likely than unimpaired people to move into institutional care or die, and their death rate was similar to that of people with Alzheimer's disease. The authors conclude that leaving out milder, non-dementia cases underestimates how common impairment is and how much risk it carries. The study observed these links; it did not test any treatment or prevention.
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This prospective study followed 392 older spousal caregivers and 427 non-caregivers for an average of 4.5 years.
Why it matters
Caregivers who reported feeling mental or emotional strain from caregiving had a 63% higher adjusted mortality risk than non-caregivers. Caregivers who did not report strain showed no elevated mortality risk, so the danger was caregiving under strain rather than caregiving itself.
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During the period of longitudinal observation, which averaged 32.6 months, 27 of the 80 MCI patients became demented.
Why it matters
In this longitudinal study, hippocampal atrophy at baseline was associated with progression from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease over an average of 32.6 months. It suggests MRI-based hippocampal volume measurement may help predict conversion to Alzheimer's disease in older patients with mild cognitive impairment.
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The acceleration of incidence rates for AD and dementia slows down with the increase in age, although we find no evidence of a rate decline.
Why it matters
This meta-analysis found that incident dementia and Alzheimer disease increase with age but the increase slows at older ages, and that women are at higher risk of developing Alzheimer disease than men. It describes risk patterns and does not report any treatment, cure, or prevention.
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Despite methodologic limitations, certain risk factors for delirium seem to be consistent and could help identify high-risk patients.
Why it matters
This review of 27 studies aimed to identify risk factors for delirium in hospitalized elderly patients. It is about delirium in hospital, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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We estimated the remaining lifetime risks of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia from all causes, based on data from longitudinal population studies.
Why it matters
In 2,611 cognitively intact adults followed for 20 years in the Framingham Study, a 65-year-old woman's remaining lifetime risk of any dementia was estimated at 19% (12% for Alzheimer's disease) and a 65-year-old man's at 10.9% (6.3% for Alzheimer's). The usual "cumulative incidence" calculation, which ignores the chance of dying of something else first, gave much higher figures in the same people (45% and 32.8% for dementia), so the authors conclude that real lifetime risk "is lower than the hypothetical risk estimated by a cumulative incidence." Risk was higher in women but changed little between ages 65 and 80.
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The prediction algorithms are a first but promising step toward providing specific prognoses to patients, families, and practitioners.
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We examined the effects of cognitive training with elderly participants from the Seattle Longitudinal Study.
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This study found that a high-intensity multidomain lifestyle intervention did not affect brain biomarker trajectories and was not associated with Aβ pathology, but older adults with specific at-risk brain characteristics, including lower baseline HC volume, showed a greater cognitive benefit of the structured intervention.
Why it matters
In this imaging study, a high-intensity multidomain lifestyle intervention did not affect brain biomarker trajectories and was not associated with amyloid pathology. However, older adults with lower baseline hippocampal volume showed greater cognitive benefit from the structured intervention than from the self-guided one.
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Smoking cessation was associated with a sustained lower dementia risk and slower cognitive decline, comparable to never smokers and those without short-term risk increase.
Why it matters
In this long-term study, people who quit smoking had a lower risk of dementia than those who kept smoking, similar to the risk seen in people who had never smoked. The benefit appeared mostly in those who gained little or no weight after quitting, while quitting with more than 10 kg of weight gain showed no statistically significant link.
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Female participants had a lower hazard of early-onset dementia compared with males (HR 0·70 [95% CI 0·61-0·80]).
Why it matters
This cohort found that diabetes, depression, smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, and alcohol overconsumption were each linked to a higher risk of early-onset dementia, while high blood pressure and high cholesterol were not statistically significant. The authors say this highlights modifiable risk factors as targets for primary prevention research.
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This pilot randomized clinical trial demonstrated the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of LMH-4-DCP in reducing caregiver grief, with improvements in caregiver-care recipient relationship quality.
Why it matters
This pilot trial of 68 caregivers found that a digital reminiscence intervention reduced predeath grief, though the improvement in relationship quality was not significant. The authors say these preliminary findings should inform a future, definitive efficacy trial.
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65/100
Among 2556 patients (mean age 79 ± 9 years; 56% women), delirium occurred in 957 (37%).
Why it matters
In this cohort of 2556 hospitalized older adults, delirium occurred in 37% and was associated with higher 90-day mortality, with the relative association strongest in those with no baseline dementia. The authors say the results provide a rationale for intervention trials to determine whether delirium prevention and management can reduce mortality, particularly among patients without known dementia.
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65/100
PRT may have a small beneficial effect on cognitive function in SVCI.
Why it matters
In this 12-month randomized trial of 91 adults with subcortical vascular cognitive impairment, progressive resistance training significantly improved cognitive scores compared with balance and tone exercises, and also reduced C-reactive protein. The effect was small and was seen in females but not males, so it suggests a possible modest benefit rather than a cure or prevention.
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Sample 1 included 1656 participants (mean [range] age, 58.1 [29.7-85.6] years; 903 female [54.5%]), and sample 2 included 935 participants (mean [range] age, 67.6 [60.0-85.6] years; 518 female [55.4%]).
Why it matters
This cohort study found that midlife hearing loss was linked to smaller brain volumes, faster decline in executive function and higher dementia risk over 15 years, especially in people with at least one apolipoprotein E ε4 allele. It suggests hearing loss may be an early marker of brain aging and dementia risk.
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Overall, 342 recommendations (285 supported by research data and 57 good practice points) and 40 key messages have been formulated.
Why it matters
These are recommendations and key messages on women's midlife health and menopause based on available evidence. The text does not address treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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65/100
Social isolation was significantly associated with reduced cognitive ability (pooled effect = -0.07, 95% CI = -0.08, -0.05), with consistently negative effects across memory, orientation, and executive ability.
Why it matters
This longitudinal study across 24 countries found that social isolation was associated with reduced cognitive ability in memory, orientation, and executive function, with stronger effects in the oldest-old, women, and those with lower socioeconomic status. It calls for cross-national interventions to strengthen social support and participation, but it does not test whether such interventions prevent or cure Alzheimer's disease.
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.
- Mild behavioral impairment correlates of cognitive impairments in older adults without dementia: mediation by amyloid pathology
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
- Higher frequency of dementia in older HIV-1 individuals: the Hawaii Aging with HIV-1 Cohort
- Appeals System and Its Outcomes in National Health Insurance in Taiwan
- Repercussions of abuse by caregivers in the elderly population with dementia: a scoping review
- Rural-urban differences in medical care for nursing home residents with severe dementia at the end of life
- A Multi-Domain Intervention Protocol for the Potential Reversal of Cognitive Frailty: "WE-RISE" Randomized Controlled Trial
- Acute peri-operative neurocognitive disorders: a narrative review
- Natural history of decline in instrumental activities of daily living performance over the 10 years preceding the clinical diagnosis of dementia: a prospective population-based study
- Advancing dementia identification using machine learning and real‐world sequential health data