Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27178844›Full record

SynthesisOccupational and environmental medicine2016

Can psychosocial work conditions protect against age-related cognitive decline? Results from a systematic review.

Mette Andersen Nexø, Annette Meng, Vilhelm Borg

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Occupational and environmental medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
33citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

33 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Evidence of Workplace Interventions-A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Physical and mental demands of work associated with dementia risk in later life.The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. The structural and social determinants of Alzheimer's disease related dementias.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2023
    Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Observational
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Mette Andersen NexøThe National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Annette MengThe National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Vilhelm BorgThe National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

According to the use it or lose it hypothesis, intellectually stimulating activities postpone age-related cognitive decline. A previous systematic review concluded that a high level of mental work demands and job control protected against cognitive decline. However, it did not distinguish between outcomes that were measured as cognitive function at one point in time or as cognitive decline. Our study aimed to systematically review which psychosocial working conditions were prospectively associated with high levels of cognitive function and/or changes in cognitive function over time. Articles were identified by a systematic literature search (MEDLINE, Web of Science (WOS), PsycNET, Occupational Safety and Health (OSH)). We included only studies with longitudinal designs examining the impact of psychosocial work conditions on outcomes defined as cognitive function or changes in cognitive function. Two independent reviewers compared title-abstract screenings, full-text screenings and quality assessment ratings. Eleven studies were included in the final synthesis and showed that high levels of mental work demands, occupational complexity or job control at one point in time were prospectively associated with higher levels of cognitive function in midlife or late life. However, the evidence to clarify whether these psychosocial factors also affected cognitive decline was insufficient, conflicting or weak. It remains speculative whether job control, job demands or occupational complexity can protect against cognitive decline. Future studies using methodological advancements can reveal whether workers gain more cognitive reserve in midlife and late life than the available evidence currently suggests. The public health implications of a previous review should thereby be redefined accordingly.

Indexed as

Age FactorsCognitionCognitive DysfunctionHumansSocial EnvironmentStress, PsychologicalWorkWorkplace

Identifiers

PMID27178844
PMCPMC4941143

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.