SynthesisInternational psychogeriatrics2022
The association between purpose/meaning in life and verbal fluency and episodic memory: a meta-analysis of >140,000 participants from up to 32 countries.
Synthesis in International psychogeriatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
40 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Purpose in life and depressive symptoms: An individual-participant meta-analysis of >500,000 participants across six world regions.Journal of affective disorders · 2026Pooled it
- Purpose in life and grip strength: An individual-participant meta-analysis of 115,972 participants from 24 countries across four continents.GeroScience · 2025Pooled it
- Sense of meaning and purpose in life and risk of incident dementia: New data and meta-analysis.Archives of gerontology and geriatrics · 2023Pooled it
- Sense of purpose in life and concurrent loneliness and risk of incident loneliness: An individual-participant meta-analysis of 135,227 individuals from 36 cohorts.Journal of affective disorders · 2022Pooled it
- Sense of Purpose in Life Is Associated with Lower Risk of Incident Dementia: A Meta-Analysis.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2021Pooled it
- Purpose in life and blood-based biomarkers of brain health.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026Article
- Do all components of psychological well-being predict cognitive function?The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026Article
- Socio-emotional well-being is associated with cognitive function and informant-rated cognitive decline: Results from the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol in Europe.Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS · 2026Article
- The measurement of cognition in large-scale cross-national surveys: lessons from the Health and Retirement Study International Network of Studies and the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026Article
- Meaning in life and Parkinson's disease: Evidence from a 17-year study across 14 countries.Archives of gerontology and geriatrics · 2026Article
- Childhood socioeconomic status and episodic memory in later life: the moderating roles of education and social class in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2002-2024).BMJ public health · 2026Article
- The role of purpose in life in healthy aging: implications for the Semmelweis Study and the Semmelweis-EUniWell Workplace Health Promotion Model Program.GeroScience · 2025Review
- Positive Psychological Factors Relate to Domain-Specific Cognition and Daily Functioning in Middle-Aged and Older Adults with HIV.AIDS and behavior · 2025Article
- Global Burden of Alzheimer's Disease Attributable to High Fasting Plasma Glucose: Epidemiological Trends and Machine Learning Insights.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2025Article
- Meaning in life and neurobiomarkers of brain health in the UK Biobank.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2025Article
- Purpose in life and accelerometer-measured physical activity among older adults.Psychology & health · 2025Article
- Timing of transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation for postoperative recovery in geriatric patients with gastrointestinal tumors: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Advantage in Aging Cognition Associated with theGeroPsych · 2024Article
- Higher purpose in life and education were associated with better cognition among older adults.Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria · 2024Article
- Purpose in life and cognitive performance and informant ratings of cognitive decline, affect, and activities.Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesFeelings of purpose and meaning in life are protective against consequential cognitive outcomes, including reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Purpose and meaning are likely to also be associated with cognitive functions on the pathway to dementia. The objective of the current research was to test whether both purpose in life and meaning in life are associated with higher verbal fluency and better episodic memory and whether these associations varied by sociodemographic characteristics or economic characteristics of the country.
designProspective meta-analysis of cross-sectional associations based on individual participant data.
settingEstablished cohort studies with measures of either purpose in life or meaning in life and verbal fluency and episodic memory.
participantsAcross the cohorts, there were over 140,000 participants from 32 countries from North and South America, Europe, and the Middle East.
resultsThe meta-analysis indicated that purpose and meaning were associated with better performance on both the verbal fluency (meta-analytic partial r = .098, 95% confidence interval [CI] = .080, .116, p < .001) and episodic memory (r = .117, 95% CI = .100, .135, p < .001) task and that these associations were similar across measures of purpose in life and meaning in life. There was modest evidence that these associations were slightly stronger in relatively lower-income countries, and there was less consistent evidence that they varied by age, gender, or education. DISCUSSION: These findings indicate a robust association between purpose/meaning and both verbal fluency and episodic memory across demographic groups and cultural context. Purpose/meaning may be a useful target of intervention for healthier cognitive aging.
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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.