Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34240064›Full record

ArticleThe lancet. Healthy longevity2021

Assessment of common infections and incident dementia using UK primary and secondary care data: a historical cohort study.

Rutendo Muzambi, Krishnan Bhaskaran, Liam Smeeth, Carol Brayne, Nish Chaturvedi, Charlotte Warren-Gash

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The lancet. Healthy longevity, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
54citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
7.8field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
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

54 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 79 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Rutendo MuzambiFaculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
Krishnan BhaskaranFaculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
Liam SmeethFaculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
Carol BrayneCambridge Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Nish ChaturvediMedical Research Council Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at University College London, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London, UK.
Charlotte Warren-GashFaculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GBMRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing · GBUniversity of Cambridge · GB

Funding

Wellcome Trust 201440/Z/16/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCommon infections have been associated with dementia risk; however, evidence is scarce. We aimed to investigate the association between common infections and dementia in adults (≥65 years) in a UK population-based cohort study.

methodsWe did a historical cohort study of individuals who were 65 years and older with no history of dementia or cognitive impairment using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked to Hospital Episode Statistics between Jan 1, 2004, and Dec 31, 2018. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate the association between time-updated previous common infections (sepsis, pneumonia, other lower respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, and skin and soft tissue infections) and incident dementia diagnosis. We also tested for effect modification by diabetes since it is an independent risk factor for dementia and co-occurs with infection.

findingsBetween Jan 1, 2004, and Dec 31, 2018, our study included 989 800 individuals (median age 68·6 years [IQR 65·0-77·0]; 537 602 [54·3%] women) of whom 402 204 (40·6%) were diagnosed with at least one infection and 56 802 (5·7%) had incident dementia during a median follow-up of 5·2 years (IQR 2·3-9·0). Dementia risk increased in those with any infection (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1·53 [95% CI 1·50-1·55]) compared with those without infection. HRs were highest for sepsis (HR 2·08 [1·89-2·29]) and pneumonia (HR 1·88 [1·77-1·99]) and for infections leading to hospital admission (1·99 [1·94-2·04]). HRs were also higher in individuals with diabetes compared with those without diabetes.

interpretationCommon infections, particularly those resulting in hospitalisation, were associated with an increased risk of dementia persisting over the long term. Whether reducing infections lowers the risk of subsequent dementia warrants evaluation.

fundingAlzheimer's Society, Wellcome Trust, and the Royal Society.

Indexed as

Diabetes MellitusPneumoniaSepsisAdultAgedCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleSecondary Health CareUnited Kingdom

Identifiers

PMID34240064
PMCPMC8245326
OpenAlexW3176786983

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.