ArticleNeurobiology of aging2018
Education amplifies brain atrophy effect on cognitive decline: implications for cognitive reserve.
Article in Neurobiology of aging, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 86 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
86 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 130 citations in OpenAlex.
- Education Levels and Poststroke Cognitive Trajectories.JAMA network open · 2025Pooled it
- Cognitive impairment and dementia-Are they linked to childhood health and socioeconomic status? A systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Determinants of cognitive performance and decline in 20 diverse ethno-regional groups: A COSMIC collaboration cohort study.PLoS medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Is grip strength a marker for cognitive function, neurodegeneration, and resilience?GeroScience · 2026Article
- Social engagement, formal education, and cognitive outcomes among older adults in India: A longitudinal population-based study.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Prevalence and Risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment Among Chinese Adults Aged 60 Years and Above: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on National Data.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2026Article
- Cerebral amyloid associated with global cognition is differentially moderated by pulse pressure across education levels in The 90+ Study.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Superficial white matter and gray matter jointly support cognition among older adults in India.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Prevalence of pre-stroke and stroke-related vision impairments and their association with mild cognitive impairment and dementia.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026Article
- Predictive model of cognitive dysfunction among the patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Article
- Moderating effect of the domains of the cognitive reserve index questionnaire (CRIq) on longitudinal change slopes in episodic memory across the cognitive aging continuum.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- An empirical analysis of the impact of early educational interventions before age three on cognitive development.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Does type or diversity of activities delay aging-related cognitive decline?Innovation in aging · 2026Article
- A multi-stage validation of the C-reactive protein-triglyceride-glucose index for predicting mild cognitive impairment: evidence from clinical and nationwide prospective cohorts.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Article
- Cognitive reserve mitigates cognitive impairment in cerebral small vessel disease by protecting white matter fibers: an automated fiber quantification study.Brain imaging and behavior · 2025Article
- Cortical volumetry and longitudinal cognitive changes in Parkinson's disease: insights from the COPPADIS cohort.Brain imaging and behavior · 2025Article
- Does education promote resilience and brain health in those with exceptional longevity? The LifeAfter90 study.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Article
- Modeling the importance of life exposure factors on memory performance in diverse older adults: A machine learning approach.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Article
- Cognitive reserve and mild cognitive impairment in older adults of low socioeconomic status: evidence from an observational study in Colombia.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025Observational
- APOE genotype and cognitive decline: educational context as a moderator of genetic risk.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025Article
26 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Level of education is often regarded as a proxy for cognitive reserve in older adults. This implies that brain degeneration has a smaller effect on cognitive decline in those with more education, but this has not been directly tested in previous research. We examined how education, quantitative magnetic resonance imaging-based measurement of brain degeneration, and their interaction affect cognitive decline in diverse older adults spanning the spectrum from normal cognition to dementia. Gray matter atrophy was strongly related to cognitive decline. While education was not related to cognitive decline, brain atrophy had a stronger effect on cognitive decline in those with more education. Importantly, high education was associated with slower decline in individuals with lesser atrophy but with faster decline in those with greater atrophy. This moderation effect was observed in Hispanics (who had high heterogeneity of education) but not in African-Americans or Caucasians. These results suggest that education is an indicator of cognitive reserve in individuals with low levels of brain degeneration, but the protective effect of higher education is rapidly depleted as brain degeneration progresses.
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Registered trials
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.