ArticleJournal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD2021
Relation of Literacy and Music Literacy to Dementia in Older Black and White Brazilians.
Article in Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2021. 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 4 papers.
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.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Dementia and cognitive decline in Black Brazilians: a narrative review.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Review
- The Pathology, Alzheimer's and Related Dementias Study (PARDoS): Design and Characteristics of the First 4,700+ Brazilian Participants.Neuroepidemiology · 2025Article
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine Approaches in Alzheimer Disease and Other Neurocognitive Disorders.Missouri medicineReview
- The (in)visible Brazilians: A perspective review on the need for brain health and dementia research with Brazilian immigrants in the United States.Alzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.)Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLiteracy is more consistently reported than education as protective against dementia in developing regions.
objectiveTo study the association of verbal literacy, numeracy, and music literacy with dementia in older Black and White Brazilians with a broad spectrum of education.
methodsWe studied 1,818 Black, Mixed-race, and White deceased Brazilians 65 years or older at death (mean = 79.64). Data were retrospectively obtained within 36 hours after death in a face-to-face interview with an informant, usually a family member. Dementia was classified using the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale. Three forms of literacy were ascertained: verbal literacy (10 questions: reading and writing), numeracy (3 questions: multiplication, percentages, and use of a calculator), and music literacy (1 question: reading music). Black (11%) and Mixed-race (23%) older adults were combined in analyses. Models adjusted for age and sex.
resultsDementia was identified in 531 people. Participants had 0 to 25 years of education (median = 4). More literacy was associated with lower odds of dementia (all p≤0.039). Participants that read music had about half the odds of having dementia. Participants in the highest quartile of numeracy and verbal literacy had respectively 27%and 15%lower odds of having dementia compared to the lowest quartile. Literacy was lower in Blacks (p < 0.001, except music p = 0.894) but the effect of literacy on dementia was similar (interaction p > 0.237). In secondary analyses, playing instruments without reading music was not associated with dementia (p = 0.887).
conclusionIn a large sample of Brazilians, verbal literacy, numeracy, and music literacy were associated with lower odds of dementia. The effect was similar across races.
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