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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Cardiovascular risk factors often cluster into a metabolic syndrome that may increase the risk of dementia.
Why it matters
In Japanese-American men first measured at about age 53, a higher combined score across seven midlife measures (blood pressure, glucose, body mass index, skinfold thickness, triglycerides and cholesterol) was linked to a modestly higher risk of dementia later in life — about 5% per standard-deviation increase (RR 1.05). The link was with vascular dementia (RR 1.11), not Alzheimer's disease (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.05). This is an observational cohort, so it shows an association, not that lowering these factors prevents dementia.
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Those individuals living alone, and those without any close social ties, both had an adjusted relative risk for developing dementia of 1.5 (95% CI 1.0-2.1 and 1.0-2.4, respectively).
Why it matters
In 1,203 Stockholm residents without dementia, followed for about 3 years, those with a poor or limited social network were 60% more likely to develop dementia, and people who were single and living alone had 1.9 times the risk of married people living with someone, after adjusting for age, education, health and mood. Seeing people rarely did not raise risk when those contacts felt satisfying. The authors say a wide social network "seems to protect against dementia" but call for confirmation; this is an observational study and does not show that building social ties lowers risk.
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It is unclear whether persons with diabetes are at increased risk for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.
Why it matters
In 1,455 people with adult-onset diabetes in Rochester, Minnesota, followed through their medical records between 1970 and 1985, the risk of any dementia was about 1.7 times that of people without diabetes (RR 1.66, 95% CI 1.34–2.05). Alzheimer's risk was clearly higher in men (RR 2.27, 95% CI 1.55–3.31) but not clearly so in women (RR 1.37, 95% CI 0.94–2.01). This shows an association, not that diabetes causes dementia; the authors say it emphasizes the importance of preventing adult-onset diabetes and calls for more research.
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Examination of the range and limits of cognitive reserve capacity (plasticity) by means of cognitive training is proffered as a promising diagnostic strategy for the early (premorbid) identification of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease, in nonclinical populations.
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APPLE-Tree has a high probability of being cost-effective for a 1-point NTB gain, a difference previously associated with a three-fold reduction in 5-year dementia risk.
Why it matters
In this economic evaluation alongside a randomized trial, the APPLE-Tree lifestyle program produced slightly lower quality-adjusted life-years than usual care and slightly higher costs. The authors conclude it has a high probability of being cost-effective for a small gain on a cognitive test score, a difference previously linked to lower dementia risk.
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Given the inconsistent evidence regarding hearing aid use and reduced dementia risk, this study evaluates whether hearing aid use, particularly effective use, is associated with lower probable dementia risk among hearing-impaired older adults.
Why it matters
This pooled analysis of seven cohorts with 61,089 hearing-impaired participants found that hearing aid use was associated with reduced dementia risk, but only among those reporting effective hearing improvement. It suggests that effective hearing rehabilitation may help lower dementia risk, though it does not show a treatment or cure.
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From 2520 records screened, 16 population-based studies were included and 12 contributed to meta-analyses.
Why it matters
This systematic review and meta-analysis found that clinically diagnosed dementia with Lewy bodies was uncommon, likely reflecting underdiagnosis and diagnostic insensitivity, with incidence and prevalence rising steeply with age and higher in men. The findings underscore the need for standardized diagnostic approaches and inclusion of underrepresented populations.
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Nineteen articles involving 142,772 participants were included.
Why it matters
This systematic review found that specialty and nonspecialty palliative care did not differ in comfort, symptom management, or satisfaction with care, but both reduced the likelihood of intensive care unit admissions and in-hospital deaths. It notes that future research is needed to understand what factors can improve comfort, symptom management, and care satisfaction for people with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias and their families.
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The results provide evidence for the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of extended nursing roles in dementia care, demonstrating that extended nursing roles reduce unmet needs and improve quality of life.
Why it matters
In this cluster-randomized trial of 417 people living with dementia, those receiving extended nursing roles had 74% lower unmet needs and a gain in quality-adjusted life years of 0.01 at slightly higher costs of 1,425 EUR, with no effect on caregiver burden after six months. The authors conclude this provides evidence for the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of extended nursing roles in reducing unmet needs and improving quality of life, not for treating or curing Alzheimer's disease.
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Total numbers of global DALYs grew 6·1% (95% UI 4·0-8·1), from 2·64 billion (2·46-2·86) in 2010 to 2·80 billion (2·57-3·08) in 2023, but age-standardised DALY rates, which account for population growth and ageing, decreased by 12·6% (11·0-14·1), revealing large long-term health improvements.
Why it matters
This Global Burden of Disease analysis reports on diseases, injuries, risk factors and healthy life expectancy worldwide, and it does not examine Alzheimer's disease treatment, cure or prevention. It contains no findings about dementia.
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61/100
Three survey rounds included 49 to 54 participants that agreed on VasCog-2 diagnostic criteria for preclinical, mild, and major dementia levels of vascular cognitive impairment (under the overarching term VCID).
Why it matters
This paper presents updated international diagnostic criteria for vascular cognitive impairment and dementia, agreed on by experts and endorsed by the World Stroke Organization. It is about improving diagnosis and consistency, not about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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-statistics 0.82-0.83). We found a significant association between all-cause dementia and multimarker CSVD scores, which was independent of the FSRP as well as its individual components.
Why it matters
In the Framingham Heart Study, a multimarker cerebral small vessel disease score was significantly associated with incident all-cause dementia, independent of the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile and its components. The authors say further studies are needed to validate the score for dementia risk prediction.
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The 6-year absolute risk was 12.0% (95% CI, 11.9% to 12.1%) in the control group (349 cases) and 9.5% (CI, 9.4% to 9.5%) in the intervention group (280 cases).
Why it matters
This trial found that an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet plus physical activity reduced type 2 diabetes incidence compared with an ad libitum Mediterranean diet in overweight or obese persons with metabolic syndrome. It does not study Alzheimer's disease outcomes.
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The global metabolic disorder, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), significantly increases the risk of cognitive dysfunction, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Why it matters
This review examines how type 2 diabetes may increase risk of cognitive dysfunction including Alzheimer's disease and discusses the Mediterranean diet as a possible strategy. It does not provide evidence that the diet treats or prevents Alzheimer's disease.
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Of 44 844 patients invited to the APT Webstudy, the mean (SD) age was 64.7 (10.1) years, 25 447 (56.8%) were women, 25 044 (55.8%) had Medicaid insurance, 11 347 (25.3%) were Hispanic/Latino, 9526 (21.2%) were non-Hispanic Asian, 6044 (13.5%) were non-Hispanic Black, and 12 109 (27%) were non-Hispanic White.
Why it matters
Offering small guaranteed payments, but not lottery-style prizes, increased enrollment of people with Medicaid insurance into a memory concerns registry. However, it did not clearly increase enrollment of racially or ethnically diverse participants.
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61/100
Individuals with cannabis use severe enough to require hospital-based care were at increased risk of a new dementia diagnosis compared with those with all-cause hospital-based care or the general population.
Why it matters
This cohort study found that people with cannabis use severe enough to require hospital-based care had a higher risk of a new dementia diagnosis than those with all-cause hospital care or the general population. The study was observational and cannot show that cannabis use causes dementia.
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A total of 31 studies were selected for this review, revealing six distinct categories of social support interventions for caregivers of older adults with dementia.
Why it matters
This scoping review of 31 studies found that social support interventions for dementia caregivers, most commonly multicomponent ones, were linked to reduced burden, anxiety, and depression and improved coping skills. It describes a range of intervention types but does not compare their effectiveness.
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The overall age and sex standardized incidence decreased between 2015 and 2021 from 3.5% to 2.8%.
Why it matters
Among US Medicare beneficiaries, the rate of new dementia cases fell from 3.5% to 2.8% between 2015 and 2021, while the total share of beneficiaries living with dementia rose from 10.5% to 11.8%. The authors say disparities by race/ethnicity, sex, and neighborhood socioeconomic status should motivate future measures to promote health equity.
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This meta-analysis included 21 studies involving 35,449 participants.
Why it matters
This meta-analysis found that falls were highly prevalent and incident in older adults with dementia, especially in dementia-specialized care units. It addresses fall risk assessment and prevention of falls, not the treatment, cure, or prevention of dementia itself.
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Age- and education-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for ADRD increased as neighborhood disadvantage increased, to 1.42 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06-1.91) in the most disadvantaged quintile compared to the least disadvantaged quintile, with a significant linear trend (p = 0.012).
Why it matters
In the largest cohort of US Black women studied for this question, living in a more disadvantaged neighborhood was linked to higher dementia risk over 9 years, and the link was partly explained by individual socioeconomic status. This is an observational association, not evidence that neighborhood conditions cause dementia.
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61/100
This study included 54 articles, comprising 14,446 participants from 10 countries.
Why it matters
This scoping review of 54 articles found mostly favorable experiences with telemedicine for dementia patients and caregivers, along with barriers to access and use. It calls for randomized controlled trials to compare service delivery modes, meaning comparative effectiveness is not yet established.
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We included 147,986 participants (Chinese [n = 6,034], Filipino [n = 4,649], Japanese [n = 3,099], South Asian [n = 996], non-Latino White [n = 133,208]); the mean baseline age ranged from 69 to 72 years, and the percentage of female participants ranged from 40% to 63% across groups.
Why it matters
In this cohort of Asian American and non-Latino White older adults, incident stroke was associated with increased dementia risk at 10 years in all groups, with risk ratios ranging from 2.9 to 5.4. The authors call for future research to untangle the mechanisms by which stroke triggers and accelerates dementia onset.
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As randomised trials are not always feasible or practical, observational studies remain crucial for addressing many causal questions in the dementia prevention field.
Why it matters
This analysis found that most recent observational cohort studies on factors thought to reduce dementia risk used a prevalent exposure design with several limitations. It argues that a target trial framework can improve the robustness of evidence for dementia prevention, but it presents no new treatment results.
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Of 1054 women with a mean age of 56.0 years at baseline, 1003 (95.2%) completed 10 years of follow-up.
Why it matters
This trial found that zoledronate administered at baseline and 5 years was effective in preventing morphometric vertebral fracture in early postmenopausal women aged 50 to 60. It contains no information on Alzheimer's disease.
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Diabetes and even prediabetes are associated with accelerated brain aging, especially among men and people with poor cardiometabolic health.
Why it matters
In this study of UK Biobank participants, both prediabetes and diabetes were associated with a higher brain age gap, and diabetes was further associated with an increase in brain age gap over time. Having a healthy lifestyle significantly attenuated the diabetes-brain age gap association.
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.
- The possible role of cerebrolysin in the management of vascular dementia: Leveraging concepts
- Psychiatric morbidity in dementia with Lewy bodies: a prospective clinical and neuropathological comparative study with Alzheimer's disease
- Palliative care for people with dementia
- Too Soon or Too Late: Rethinking the Significance of Six Months When Dementia Is a Primary Diagnosis
- Differences Between Women and Men in Incidence Rates of Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease
- Phase lag index: assessment of functional connectivity from multi channel EEG and MEG with diminished bias from common sources
- Dementia Caregivers’ Perspectives on Technology’s Place in Care Practices: Mixed Methods Survey
- Hippocampal, caudate, and ventricular changes in Parkinson's disease with and without dementia
- Health literacy and urban–rural disparities: a cross-sectional study of access, adherence, and quality of life across the neurological spectrum
- The neuropathology of traumatic brain injury