Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30019663›Full record

ArticleJournal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS2018

Change in Cognitive Performance From Midlife Into Old Age: Findings from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Study.

Matthew L Hughes, Stefan Agrigoroaei, Minjeong Jeon, Molly Bruzzese, Margie E Lachman

Erratum issuedAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 96 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
96citing papers in PubMed, 1 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

96 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Study design and results of the Wave VI Add Health Cognitive Assessment, Physical, and Sensory Function (Add CAPS) protocol.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026
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  6. Independent trajectories of cognitive function and daily events across 9 years during midlife and old age.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026
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  19. Patterns of Perceived Control That Buffer Against Cognitive Decline in Midlife and Old Age.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025
    Article
  20. Review

36 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Matthew L Hughes1Department of Psychology,Brandeis University,Waltham,Massachusetts.
Stefan Agrigoroaei2Psychological Sciences Research Institute,Université catholique de Louvain,Belgium.
Minjeong Jeon3Graduate School of Education & Information Studies,University of California,Los Angeles,Los Angeles,California.
Molly Bruzzese1Department of Psychology,Brandeis University,Waltham,Massachusetts.
Margie E Lachman1Department of Psychology,Brandeis University,Waltham,Massachusetts.

Funding

U19 MIDlife in the United States-Diversity Supplement-WellsU19AG051426 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI CAROL D. RYFF · 2016 to 2026
$74.8M
STATISTICS COREP01AG020166 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI RYFF, CAROL D. · 2002 to 2015
$50.6M
TRAINING IN COGNITIVE AGING IN A SOCIAL CONTEXTT32AG000204 · NIA · BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY · PI WINGFIELD, ARTHUR · 1990 to 2017
$2.8M
NIA NIH HHS P01 AG020166NIA NIH HHS T32 AG000204NIA NIH HHS U19 AG051426
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesA substantial body of research has documented age-related declines in cognitive abilities among adults over 60, yet there is much less known about changes in cognitive abilities during midlife. The goal was to examine longitudinal changes in multiple cognitive domains from early midlife through old age in a large national sample, the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study.

methodsThe Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT) was administered on two occasions (MIDUS 2, MIDUS 3), an average of 9 years apart. At MIDUS 3, those with the cognitive assessment (N=2518) ranged in age from 42 to 92 years (M=64.30; SD=11.20) and had a mean education of 14.68 years (SD=2.63). The BTACT includes assessment of key aging-sensitive cognitive domains: immediate and delayed free recall, number series, category fluency, backward digit span, processing speed, and reaction time for attention switching and inhibitory control, which comprise two factors: episodic memory and executive functioning.

resultsAs predicted, all cognitive subtests and factors showed very small but significant declines over 9 years, with differences in the timing and extent of change. Processing speed showed the earliest and steepest decrements. Those with higher educational attainment scored better on all tests except reaction time. Men had better executive functioning and women performed better on episodic memory.

conclusionsExamining cognitive changes in midlife provides opportunities for early detection of cognitive impairments and possibilities for preventative interventions. (JINS, 2018, 24, 805-820).

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overAttentionCognitionCognitive AgingEducational StatusExecutive FunctionFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMemoryMemory, EpisodicMental RecallMiddle AgedCognitive agingCognitive functionEducational statusLongitudinal studiesMiddle agedSex differences

Identifiers

PMID30019663
PMCPMC6170692

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.