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.
-
64/100
In community-dwelling older persons, the combination of a long-term lifestyle MI and omega-3 supplementation did not reduce frailty level or incidence.
Why it matters
Over 3 years, a lifestyle multidomain intervention and omega-3 supplementation showed no difference from placebo in frailty level. A lower frailty incidence was seen for the combined intervention in a sensitivity analysis, which the authors say needs further confirmation; this concerns frailty, not treating or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
-
Slow gait speed has been shown to predict incident dementia and cognitive decline in older individuals.
Why it matters
In this scoping review of 39 longitudinal studies (57,456 participants in total), 33 reported a significant link between slower walking speed and later cognitive decline or dementia. The authors suggest that brain changes and wider health burdens (heart, lung, metabolic and inflammatory) may affect both movement and thinking, and that measuring gait speed "may improve the detection of prodromal dementia". This is an association, not a cause, and the review does not give a combined effect size or a validated cut-off for screening.
-
SCD can precede both AD and non-AD dementia.
Why it matters
People reporting subjective cognitive decline went on to develop both Alzheimer's and non-Alzheimer's dementia, with higher risk in memory clinic settings. This describes who may be at higher risk but does not provide a treatment or cure.
-
Issues with eating and drinking are often overlooked.
-
Forty-one studies were included.
Why it matters
Combining physical activity with cognitive challenges led to larger cognitive gains than control groups in this meta-analysis of 41 studies. The findings suggest physical activity programs for older adults could include cognitive exercises to improve cognition.
-
The most common place of death in patients with dementia is the retirement or nursing home, followed by hospital and home.
-
The experiences and preparedness of informal carers is a reflection of their personal response, but the distress experienced highlights the significant need of adequate support availability and of enhancing nursing staffs' dementia expertise to maximize their role in facilitating best interest decision-making.
-
PARO may have some effect on motor activity of older people with dementia in long-term care, but not on sleep patterns.
Why it matters
In this trial, the robotic seal PARO led to greater reductions in daytime and nighttime step counts and daytime physical activity compared with a plush toy or usual care in older people with dementia. These changes in motor activity and sleep patterns do not indicate a treatment or cure for Alzheimer's disease.
-
The higher risk of AD among blacks may stem from lower level of cognitive test performance persisting throughout the observation period rather than faster rate of late-life cognitive decline.
Why it matters
In this population-based study, black participants performed worse on cognitive tests and had about twice the incident Alzheimer disease risk of white participants, but cognitive decline was not faster among black participants. The authors report that years of education accounted for a sizable portion of the racial disparities in cognitive level and disease risk, and this study does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.
-
Home-based CCT Adaptive WM training appears more effective than Non-Adaptive training in older adults from different cultural backgrounds.
-
Benefits of a Mediterranean diet for cognition have been suggested, but epidemiologic studies have been relatively small and of limited duration.
-
After removal of duplicates, our initial search returned 3955 records.
Why it matters
This systematic review of mobile health apps for people with cognitive impairment found that many app interventions lacked quantitative health outcomes in their evaluation and that there is no consensus on which outcomes to use. It provides no evidence that any app treats, cures, or prevents Alzheimer's disease.
-
We aimed to evaluate the criterion validity of the 2015 food-based Dutch dietary guidelines, which were formulated based on evidence on the relation between diet and major chronic diseases.
Why it matters
In 9,701 Rotterdam Study participants, each additional component of the Dutch dietary guidelines adhered to was linked to 3% lower mortality and lower risk of some chronic diseases. The study reports associations with some but not all diseases, so it does not prove that following the guidelines prevents dementia.
-
Persistent pain was associated with accelerated memory decline and increased probability of dementia.
Why it matters
Among 10,065 older adults in the HRS cohort, followed for memory and dementia from 2000 to 2012, the 10.9% with persistent pain at the start had memory decline that was 9.2% faster after adjustment (95% CI 2.8%–15.0%), and a higher estimated probability of dementia. People with persistent pain also had more depressive symptoms and more limits on daily activities at baseline. This is an observational association: it does not show that pain causes dementia, or that treating pain would prevent it.
-
In particular, systemic inflammation, vascular inflammation, and altered endothelial function may play roles in domain-specific cognitive decline of nondemented individuals.
Why it matters
In 1,159 dementia-free adults aged 75 or older from the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study, followed for up to 7 years, a combined score of ten blood inflammation markers was significantly associated with decline in memory and psychomotor speed. The authors suggest systemic and blood-vessel inflammation and endothelial function may play roles in specific kinds of cognitive decline. Because this is an association, it flags inflammation as a possible target rather than showing that reducing it protects memory.
-
If recent mortality trends continue, 160,000 more people in England and Wales will need palliative care by 2040.
Why it matters
This study projects that the number of people needing palliative care in England and Wales will grow as deaths increase, based on mortality statistics and assumptions about disease prevalence. It does not test any treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease, but it does include separate projections for dementia as one of the conditions driving palliative care need.
-
64/100
Finding positive gains is an effective intervention to reduce depressive symptoms among Alzheimer caregivers.
Why it matters
In this trial of 96 caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease, those who received a benefit-finding intervention reported lower depressive symptoms and less role overload compared with those who received psychoeducation. This intervention helps caregivers cope but does not treat, cure, or prevent Alzheimer's disease itself.
-
Clinicians treating people with a hip fracture should be vigilant towards post-operative delirium if their patients are older, have pre-existing cognitive impairment and poorer overall general health.
Why it matters
This review found that older age, living in a care institution before admission, and a pre-admission diagnosis of dementia were linked to a higher probability of post-operative delirium after hip fracture surgery. It helps clinicians identify patients at risk but does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
-
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a technique of noninvasive cortical stimulation allowing significant modification of brain functions.
-
The recent relevant evidence of the effects of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and lifestyle on health (2015 and first months of 2016).
-
There is abundant evidence on the health and fitness effects of tai chi.
-
Study objectives Sleep duration has been associated with risk of dementia and stroke, but few studies have investigated the relationship between sleep duration and brain MRI measures, particularly in middle age.
Why it matters
In this cohort of middle-aged adults, short sleep duration was associated with worse markers of white matter integrity on brain MRI five years later. The authors suggest these mid-life white matter differences may underlie the link between poor sleep and dementia risk, but this study did not measure dementia itself.
-
Palliative care improves cancer, CHF, COPD, and dementia outcomes.
-
Men are at higher risk of postoperative delirium after hip fracture repair than women and have more postoperative surgical complications.
-
64/100
Twenty studies met inclusion criteria.
Why it matters
This meta-analysis found that anxiety was associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia in the community, with stronger links at higher age suggesting it may be a prodromal symptom. It does not show that treating anxiety prevents dementia.
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.
- Impact of behavioural problems on spousal caregivers: a comparison between Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia
- Lifestyle Medicine for Obesity in the Era of Highly Effective Anti-Obesity Treatment
- Behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia and the challenges for family carers: systematic review
- Should we Treat Sleep Apnoea to Prevent Dementia?
- The Effects of Dietary Intervention and Macrophage-Activating Factor Supplementation on Cognitive Function in Elderly Users of Outpatient Rehabilitation
- Fornix integrity and hippocampal volume in male schizophrenic patients
- Adherence and intensity in multimodal lifestyle-based interventions for cognitive decline prevention: state-of-the-art and future directions
- Hospice Care for Patients With Dementia in the United States: A Longitudinal Cohort Study
- Mild cognitive impairment
- High intake of ultra-processed food is associated with dementia in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies