Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40513855›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental research2025

Long-term exposure to extreme heat and cold and cognitive decline in older adults: Results from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort.

Peter S Larson, Phillipa Clarke, Robert Melendez, Jessica M Finlay, Ketlyne Sol, Suzanne Judd, Iris Gomez-Lopez, Anam Khan, Carina J Gronlund

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Heterogeneous associations of cumulative heat exposure with cognitive decline among older Japanese adults.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Peter S LarsonSocial Environment and Health Program, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 486 Thompson St, Ann Arbor, 48104, MI, USA; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 108 Observatory, Ann Arbor, 48109, MI, USA. Electronic address: anfangen@umich.edu.
Phillipa ClarkeSocial Environment and Health Program, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 486 Thompson St, Ann Arbor, 48104, MI, USA.
Robert MelendezSocial Environment and Health Program, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 486 Thompson St, Ann Arbor, 48104, MI, USA.
Jessica M FinlayDepartment of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA; Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
Ketlyne SolSocial Environment and Health Program, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 486 Thompson St, Ann Arbor, 48104, MI, USA.
Suzanne JuddDepartment of Medicine, Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA; Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Iris Gomez-LopezSocial Environment and Health Program, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 486 Thompson St, Ann Arbor, 48104, MI, USA.
Anam KhanSocial Environment and Health Program, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 486 Thompson St, Ann Arbor, 48104, MI, USA.
Carina J GronlundSocial Environment and Health Program, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 486 Thompson St, Ann Arbor, 48104, MI, USA; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 108 Observatory, Ann Arbor, 48109, MI, USA.

Funding

VCID and Stroke in a Bi-racial National CohortU01NS041588 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI CUSHMAN, MARY, HOWARD, GEORGE · 2002 to 2022
$96.0M
Strategic Vision & Impact on Environmental HealthP30ES017885 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI STUART A BATTERMAN · 2011 to 2026
$21.3M
A National Neighborhood Data Resource to Understand the Health and Socioeconomic Impacts of the 2020 Pandemic in the United StatesU01NR020556 · NINR · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI Philippa Clarke, Grace A Noppert · 2022 to 2026
$3.2M
Assessing the Neuropsychological Benefits of Weatherization ProgramsR01ES032157 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI Carina Gronlund · 2021 to 2026
$3.0M
Cognitive Resilience and Community Context: Examining the role of Neighborhood Built and Social Environments for Slowing the Progression of Dementia among older AmericansRF1AG057540 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI CLARKE, PHILIPPA · 2017 to 2019
$3.0M
Risk and resilience mechanisms underlying race disparities in ADRD: An examination of neighborhood resources, social networks, brain integrity, and cognitionK01AG073588 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI SOL, KETLYNE · 2021 to 2025
$637k
NIA NIH HHS K01 AG073588NIA NIH HHS RF1 AG057540NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES017885NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES032157NINDS NIH HHS U01 NS041588NINR NIH HHS U01 NR020556
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEvidence suggests that short-term exposures to extreme heat and/or cold are associated with cognitive decline in elderly people. The effects of long-term exposures to temperature extremes are not well understood.

methodsWe used longitudinal data (2006-2018) from a cohort of 30,000 Black and White adults 45 and older. Exposures to regionally specific extreme temperatures, heat and cold days, were obtained from the National Neighborhood Data Archive (NANDA). Associations of cognition with the number of extreme heat/cold days were tested using mixed effects linear regression models within a distributed lag non-linear modelling (DLNM) framework.

resultsAccounting for individual base-line cognition, age and geographic area, cognitive decline was not associated with exposure to greater proportions of annual extreme heat days (99th percentile of total heat days) up to five-years (Estimate -0.05 (95% CI:-0.19,0.09)). Associations of cumulative five-year exposure to cold, however, showed positive though non-significant associations (Estimate 0.09 (95% CI:-0.01,0.17)). For years where 7% of the days were extreme cold days vs. years where 0% were extreme cold days, Black women had 0.25 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.47) point increase in cognition scores over five years. Those with some college and those with high incomes also had higher scores. However, for years with 2% vs. years with 0% annual extreme heat days, individuals who had not attended any college but had graduated from high school had 0.32 point decline in cognitive function scores over five years (95% CI: -.54,-.11)).

conclusionsLong-term exposure to extreme heat or cold over the long-term might be associated with cognitive change, but these changes may be limited to specific demographic subgroups. Further work should focus on long term exposures controlling for household level factors such as housing quality or weatherization.

Indexed as

Cognitive DysfunctionCold TemperatureEnvironmental ExposureExtreme HeatAgedAged, 80 and overBlack or African AmericanCohort StudiesFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedUnited StatesWhiteClimate changeCognitionHealthHealth disparitiesTemperature

Identifiers

PMID40513855
PMCPMC12772504

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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.