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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We investigated whether a discrepancy between chronological and biological age in midlife and late-life is associated with cognition and dementia risk.
Why it matters
In the ARIC and MESA cohorts, accelerated biological age was associated with lower cognition and higher dementia risk in midlife and more prominently in late life. This suggests that proteomics-based aging clocks may help identify people at higher risk, but it is a risk association rather than a treatment or cure.
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This study examined the combined effects of StrongerMemory program (brain exercises involving reading, writing, and math) and weekly social engagement on cognitive, behavioral, and emotional outcomes in older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD).
Why it matters
In this 12-week trial of 50 older adults with subjective cognitive decline, adding weekly social engagement to a brain-exercise program led to better cognitive function and emotional well-being than brain exercises alone. The authors note the small sample size limited the study's power, so the results are exploratory and need confirmation.
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The study encompassed 479 723 participants (mean [SD] age, 56.5 [8.1] years; 260 730 females [54.4%]), including 271 690 in the YOD analyses and 334 939 in the LOD analyses.
Why it matters
In this cohort of nearly 480,000 participants, cycling and mixed-cycling travel modes were associated with lower risks of all-cause dementia, Alzheimer disease, young-onset dementia, and late-onset dementia compared with nonactive travel modes. The association was stronger in people without the APOE ε4 allele, and cycling was also associated with higher hippocampal volume.
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Inter-rater agreement for ID level classification was 95% within sites but 60% between sites.
Why it matters
This study found that discrepancies in classifying intellectual disability levels between sites affect the cut-offs used to diagnose dementia in adults with Down syndrome. It highlights the need for standardized classification to improve diagnostic accuracy, but it does not report any treatment, cure, or prevention.
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Ultimately, 10,373 participants were included in the analysis.
Why it matters
In three long-term studies, motoric cognitive risk syndrome predicted falls over the next four years, while slow gait alone did not. It suggests a possible screening tool for fall risk, not a treatment or cure for Alzheimer's disease.
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Data from 1,272,495 individuals, with the mean age at diagnosis ranging from 76.8 years (South Korea) to 82.9 years (Germany), show that the overall median length of survival following recorded diagnosis ranges from 2.4 years (New Zealand) to 7.9 years (South Korea).
Why it matters
This multinational cohort study found that median survival after dementia diagnosis ranged from 2.4 to 7.9 years across regions, and in five regions people diagnosed more recently had a lower risk of dying. It describes survival trends and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.
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We observed high levels of missing data in most cognitive test items - on average 13% and as high as 65%.
Why it matters
This study found high levels of missing cognitive test data in a large survey, with missingness linked to language fluency, literacy, and sensory impairments. It highlights that differential missingness is a potential threat to drawing conclusions from cognitive assessments, rather than reporting a treatment or cure.
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All ML models outperformed the MMSE alone.
Why it matters
Machine learning models using blood biomarkers, demographics, life behavior, and disease history predicted cognitive impairment more accurately than the MMSE alone. This may help identify older adults at risk for timely interventions, but the study does not test any treatment or prevention.
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In total, 41 participants consented (n=10, 24% participants with Alzheimer disease; n=11, 27% participants with Lewy body disease; and n=20, 49% controls).
Why it matters
This feasibility study found that remote sleep and cognitive monitoring was feasible in older adults with mild cognitive impairment and dementia, with high retention and data completeness. It supports the use of remote monitoring in future trials but does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.
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57/100
Assistance with daily activities is crucial for persons living with dementia and functional limitations, yet many face substantial challenges in accessing adequate care and support.
Why it matters
Using longitudinal survey data from many countries, this study found that at least one-fifth of persons with dementia and functional limitations received no personal assistance for daily activities, and care availability showed no improvement over time. It highlights gaps in care access rather than any treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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The sample consisted predominantly of women (79% in the intervention group, 69% in the control group), with daughters forming the largest caregiver subgroup (66.6% and 52.4%, respectively).
Why it matters
In this randomized controlled trial, a structured psychoeducation and skill-based intervention significantly reduced caregiver burden and anxiety after three months compared to the control group, but NPI-Q scores remained unchanged. It shows benefits for caregiver wellbeing, not for treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease itself.
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Among our participants, aMCI and VCIND demonstrated prevalence of 14.83% and 2.71%, respectively, and annual incidence (per 1000 person-years) of 69.6 and 10.6, respectively.
Why it matters
In a Chinese cohort, age raised the risk of both amnestic and vascular mild cognitive impairment, while higher education, tea consumption and physical activity were protective for the amnestic type. The authors suggest these easy-to-adopt lifestyle factors could help prevent mild cognitive impairment, though the study was observational.
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57/100
During an average follow-up period of 14.5 years, a total of 9520 (81.1%) participants had used NSAIDs at any given time, and 2091 participants developed dementia.
Why it matters
Long-term NSAID use was associated with a lower risk of dementia, but the total cumulative dose was not linked to lower risk, and short- and intermediate-term use showed a small increased risk. The authors suggest prolonged rather than intensive anti-inflammatory exposure may hold potential for dementia prevention, which still needs testing.
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The SHS global burden increased by 74% between 1990 and 2021 to almost 73·5 million individuals, with population growth accounting for only half of that increase.
Why it matters
This analysis reports that serious health-related suffering increased globally between 1990 and 2021, with dementia contributing to suffering in high-income countries. It is a burden-of-suffering analysis and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Among 143 331 older adults with dementia (83 536 [58.3%] female; mean [SD] age, 83.8 [7.5] years), 1312 (0.9%) received a feeding tube in hospital and 142 019 (99.1%) did not.
Why it matters
In this cohort of hospitalized older adults with dementia, receiving a feeding tube was not associated with improved survival or postdischarge outcomes. Feeding tube recipients stayed longer in hospital and were more likely to be admitted to intensive care or die in hospital.
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Among the participants, 377 (93.5%) reported subjective memory complaints.
Why it matters
Subjective cognitive decline was very common in this urban South Indian population, affecting nearly half of participants, and higher education was linked to fewer memory complaints. Screening for subjective cognitive decline may help identify people at risk for Alzheimer's disease, but this study does not test any treatment or prevention.
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The weighted prevalence of dementia based on the 10/66 Diagnostic Research Group (DRG) criteria was 8.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.3-10.7) in the WiSE 2023 study compared to 10% in the WiSE 2013 study (95% CI: 8.7-11.5).
Why it matters
Dementia prevalence in Singapore fell from 10% to 8.8% over a decade, but this 12% reduction was not statistically significant. The proportion of undiagnosed dementia dropped significantly from 70.6% to 51.5%, suggesting better detection over time.
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The application was developed with distinct user and administrator interfaces to support engagement and monitoring.
Why it matters
This paper describes the development and usability testing of a cognitive training application for elderly people with mild cognitive impairment or dementia, involving 7 experts and 11 users. It reports on the app's design and usability, not on whether it improves cognition or prevents dementia.
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Light Gradient-boosting Machine (LightGBM) achieved the highest performance in identifying agitation over an 8-day period with a sensitivity of 71.32% ± 7.38 and specificity of 75.28% ± 7.38.
Why it matters
In this proof-of-concept study, a machine learning tool identified agitation episodes in people with dementia over an 8-day period with a sensitivity of 71.32% and specificity of 75.28%, rising to 90.3% specificity with a traffic-light stratification system. It is an early monitoring and intervention-design tool, not a treatment, cure, or prevention of Alzheimer's disease.
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Of the total, 908 (37.0%) participants had cSVD on MRI reading at baseline.
Why it matters
In a Korean population followed for 8 years, people with silent small vessel disease at middle age did worse on some tests of executive function, while most other cognitive tests showed no difference between groups. This links small vessel disease to later thinking problems, but it is observational and does not test prevention or treatment.
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Among the 1665 AIBL participants (741 [44.5%] female) and 2029 ADNI participants (925 [45.6%] female), the mean (SD) age at first evaluation was 71.8 (7.1) years and 74.5 (6.7) years, respectively.
Why it matters
Researchers developed and validated a tool that predicts the age at which mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer dementia will begin, with mean absolute errors of 2.78 and 1.48 years in the main cohorts. The authors suggest it may help organize care and, in the future, prioritize patients for disease-modifying monoclonal antibody drugs.
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AF is associated with significantly increased risk of stroke, heart failure, myocardial infarction, dementia, chronic kidney disease, and mortality.
Why it matters
This review states that atrial fibrillation is associated with an increased risk of dementia among other conditions, and that anticoagulation reduces stroke risk in certain patients. It does not show that treating atrial fibrillation prevents or cures dementia.
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57/100
(n = 2,392) had a mean age of 74.4 years, 60.4% were female, and 17.1% were of self-reported Black race.
Why it matters
This study evaluated alternatives to race-based cognitive normative models using social determinants of health. It concerns cognitive test interpretation, not treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Among 9239 eligible respondents, 5258 (57.7%) were female and 1210 (9.1%) were Black, 574 (4.7%) were Hispanic, and 7297 (84.4%) were White.
Why it matters
This study tracked traumatic brain injury over 18 years in older adults and found that those with TBI were more likely to be female, White, have normal cognition, and have higher education and wealth. Lower education, Black race, area deprivation, and male sex were associated with TBI in adjusted models.
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Two of every three persons living with dementia reside in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Why it matters
This report from a 2022 expert symposium notes that about two-thirds of people with dementia live in low- and middle-income countries, where prevalence is expected to more than double, yet research and care costs are concentrated in high-income countries. It calls for targeted, harmonized research in those countries on diagnosis, cognitive testing, prevention and care, and points to the Nairobi Declaration's call for global action. It is a summary of expert discussion and recommendations, not a new study with its own data.
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.
- Associations of cholinergic white matter hyperintensity volume with cognitive decline and incident dementia in older adults: a cohort study
- Preventable adverse events and related outcomes among people with dementia in hospital settings: scoping review
- Mild cognitive impairment: a concept in evolution
- Toward compassionate communication: a rapid review on facilitating the dementia disclosure process
- The Modified Mini-Mental State Examination test: normative data for Singapore Chinese older adults and its performance in detecting early cognitive impairment
- Brain structure and obesity
- Cognitive leisure activities and their role in preventing dementia: a systematic review
- The Clinician Assessment of Fluctuation and the One Day Fluctuation Assessment Scale. Two methods to assess fluctuating confusion in dementia
- Development and Validation of a Routine Electronic Health Record-Based Delirium Prediction Model for Surgical Patients Without Dementia: Retrospective Case-Control Study
- A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial on cannabinoid-based medication for behavioural disorders in old patients with severe dementia: the study results