SynthesisAge and ageing2025
Life satisfaction and risk of dementia in older adults: findings from 15 European countries and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Age and ageing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Purpose in life and mortality: A meta-analysis of the published literature and individual-participant data of 488,765 participants followed for up to 32 years.Psychological medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Promoting healthy aging in occupational settings: satisfaction with life as a strategic target in the Semmelweis-EUniWell framework.GeroScience · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLife satisfaction (LS) is associated with lower morbidity and mortality. However, the evidence linking LS to dementia remains limited, with no studies from Europe. Prior studies also differ in the measurement of LS, dementia ascertainment and follow-up length. This study examined the prospective association between LS and dementia risk in samples of older adults from 15 European countries and combined the findings with the published literature in a meta-analysis.
methodsParticipants from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA; N = 6979; 56.1% female; Meanage = 65.35) and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE; N = 24,098; 55.8% female; Meanage = 64.50) reported their LS at baseline (2004-05 for ELSA; 2006-10 for SHARE). Dementia was ascertained through self-reported diagnosis or the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly up to 2023 for ELSA and with self and/or proxy-reported doctor diagnosis up to 2022 for SHARE.
resultsIn both samples, accounting for age and sex, greater LS was associated with a lower risk of dementia (ELSA; hazard ratio [HR] = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.73-0.87; SHARE; HR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.79-0.86). The association persisted, accounting for other dementia risk factors (physical inactivity, smoking, obesity, diabetes, hypertension and depression), and was similar across sociodemographic groups and European regions. The random-effects meta-analysis (k = 7; total N = 74 392) supported the association between LS and lower dementia risk (HR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.67-0.84).
conclusionsAcross Europe and other world regions, the findings are consistent that LS is related to a lower risk of dementia. LS could be a valuable target for promoting healthier cognitive outcomes in older adults.
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