ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2020
Multimorbidity and Cognitive Decline Over 14 Years in Older Americans.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 123 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mapping the relationships among sleep, motor balance, and cognition in older adults: a systematic scoping review.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- The association between religious participation and memory among middle-aged and older adults: A systematic review.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
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- Pooled it
- Multimorbidity patterns and cognitive trajectories in older adults: functional, behavioral, and environmental pathways-a longitudinal analysis of CHARLS.Research square · 2026Article
- Multimorbidity and Associations with Cognition and Alzheimer's Disease Biomarkers.Annals of neurology · 2026Article
- Multimorbidity and Cognitive Function in Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Shanghai: The Mediating Role of Sleep Quality.Journal of sleep research · 2026Article
- Evaluating the association of physical frailty with cognitive impairment: a clinical perspective in older adults of Bangladesh.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Association Rule Analysis of Cognitive Frailty Subtypes in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.Clinical interventions in aging · 2026Article
- Cardiometabolic multimorbidity and cognitive-functional transitions across international ageing cohorts.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Demographic and clinical influences on emotion prosody recognition.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Beyond Somatic Multimorbidity: Longitudinal Effects of Edentulism and Mental Health on Cognition in Older Adults.Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · 2025Article
- Longitudinal Trajectories of Multimorbidity and Psychosocial Resilience Resources in Midlife and Older Adults: Findings From the Health and Retirement Study.Journal of aging and health · 2025Article
- Burden of multimorbidity and verbal phonemic fluency in cognitively healthy and mildly impaired older adults: findings from a real-world study.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2025Article
- A Network Analysis of Food Intake and Cognitive Function in Older Adults with Multimorbidity: A National Cross-Sectional Study.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Cohort Changes in Cognitive Function Among Mexican Older Adults from 2001 to 2021.The Gerontologist · 2025Article
- History of chronic pain and opioid use is associated with cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment.Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS · 2025Article
- Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity and Dementia Onset Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Differences by Race/Ethnicity.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2025Observational
- The association between physical multimorbidity and fall-related injury among adults aged ≥ 50 years from low- and middle-income countries.European journal of ageing · 2025Article
- Prevalence of Multiple Chronic Conditions in Older Adults with Undiagnosed Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias in Primary Care.Clinical interventions in aging · 2025Article
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMultimorbidity is associated with greater disability and accelerated declines in physical functioning over time in older adults. However, less is known about its effect on cognitive decline.
methodsParticipants without dementia from the Health and Retirement Study were interviewed about physician-diagnosed conditions, from which their multimorbidity-weighted index (MWI) that weights diseases to physical functioning was computed. We used linear mixed-effects models to examine the predictor MWI with the modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICSm, global cognition), 10-word immediate recall and delayed recall, and serial 7s outcomes biennially after adjusting for baseline cognition and covariates.
resultsFourteen thousand two hundred sixty-five participants, 60% female, contributed 73,700 observations. Participants had a mean ± SD age 67 ± 9.3 years and MWI 4.4 ± 3.9 at baseline. Each point increase in MWI was associated with declines in global cognition (0.04, 95% CI: 0.03-0.04 TICSm), immediate recall (0.01, 95% CI: 0.01-0.02 words), delayed recall (0.01, 95% CI: 0.01-0.02 words), and working memory (0.01, 95% CI: 0.01-0.02 serial 7s; all p < .001). Multimorbidity was associated with faster declines in global cognition (0.003 points/year faster, 95% CI: 0.002-0.004), immediate recall (0.001 words/year faster, 95% CI: 0.001-0.002), and working memory (0.006 incorrect serial 7s/year faster, 95% CI: 0.004-0.009; all p < .001), but not delayed recall compared with premorbid slopes.
conclusionsMultimorbidity using a validated index weighted to physical functioning was associated with acute decline in cognition and accelerated and persistent cognitive decline over 14 years. This study supports an ongoing geriatric syndrome of coexisting physical and cognitive impairment in adults with multimorbidity. Clinicians should monitor and address both domains in older multimorbid adults.
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