Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41252085›Full record

ReviewGeroScience2025

Metabolic syndrome and risk of dementia and cognitive decline: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies from 6,753,197 participants.

Qi Wang, Luyi Zhang, Ruiqi Xu, Kexin Meng, Lutong Pan, Xiaoyu Zhang, Long Ge, Dongshan Zhu

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in GeroScience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
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

8 authors.

Qi WangDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 Wenhuaxi Road, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
Luyi ZhangDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 Wenhuaxi Road, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
Ruiqi XuDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 Wenhuaxi Road, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
Kexin MengDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 Wenhuaxi Road, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
Lutong PanInstitute for Hospital Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Xiaoyu ZhangDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 Wenhuaxi Road, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
Long GeEvidence-Based Social Science Research Center, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
Dongshan ZhuDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 Wenhuaxi Road, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China. dongshan.zhu@uq.net.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0697-7432

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Previous findings on the link between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the risk of all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VD), and cognitive decline are inconsistent. We systematically searched Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, and Scopus up to June 2025 for prospective cohort studies conducted in community-based settings among adults aged 18 years or older that reported risk estimates (e.g., relative risks, hazard ratios, or odds ratios) for the association between MetS and the risk of dementia or cognitive decline. Risk of bias for studies were assessed using ROBINS-I, and the Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was applied to evaluate the certainty of evidence. Relative risks (RR) with 95%CI were computed using a random-effects inverse-variance method. Twenty-eight cohorts involving 6,753,197 participants were examined. MetS was significantly associated with a higher risk of all-cause dementia (RR = 1.11, 95%CI: 1.07-1.14; absolute risk difference: 2 more cases per 1000 persons), VD (RR = 1.33, 95%CI: 1.21-1.46; absolute risk difference: 7 more per 1000), and cognitive decline (RR = 1.24, 95%CI: 1.10-1.40; absolute risk difference: 5 more per 1000), all based on low-certainty evidence. No significant association was found between MetS and AD, with very low certainty. MetS components of hypertension, hyperglycemia, and low HDL-C were key risk factors, with a dose-response relationship observed between the number of MetS components and dementia risk. Subgroup analyses indicated MetS increased all-cause dementia risk in individuals under 70 (p-value for interaction: 0.048). MetS was positively associated with increased risk of all-cause-dementia, VD, and cognitive decline, but not AD. However, the effect sizes were modest and the certainty of evidence was low. Further prospective cohort studies are needed to confirm the associations.

Indexed as

All-cause dementiaAlzheimer’s diseaseCognitive declineMetabolic syndromeVascular dementia

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.