Health behaviors from early to late midlife as predictors of cognitive function: the Whitehall II study.
Open accessAbstract
The authors examined associations of health behaviors over a 17-year period, separately and in combination, with cognition in late midlife in 5,123 men and women from the Whitehall II study (United Kingdom). Health behaviors were assessed in early midlife (mean age = 44 years; phase 1, 1985-1988), in midlife (mean age = 56 years; phase 5, 1997-1999), and in late midlife (mean age = 61 years; phase 7, 2002-2004). A score of the number of unhealthy behaviors (smoking, alcohol abstinence, low physical activity, and low fruit and vegetable consumption) was defined as ranging from 0 to 4. Poor (defined as scores in the worst sex-specific quintile) executive function and memory in late midlife (phase 7) were analyzed as outcomes. Compared with those with no unhealthy behaviors, those with 3-4 unhealthy behaviors at phase 1 (odds ratio (OR) = 1.84, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.27, 2.65), phase 5 (OR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.76, 3.22), and phase 7 (OR = 2.76, 95% CI: 2.04, 3.73) were more likely to have poor executive function. A similar association was observed for memory. The odds of poor executive function and memory were the greater the more times the participant reported unhealthy behaviors over the 3 phases. This study suggests that both the number of unhealthy behaviors and their duration are associated with subsequent cognitive function in later life.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In older adults, aerobic exercise was associated with improved performances in episodic memory tasks.
“Some human studies have focussed on assessing the influence of AE on hippocampus dependent cognition and shown in older adults that AE was associated with improved performances in both episodic (Richards et al., 2003; Stewart et al., 2003; Sabia et al., 2009; Flöel et al., 2010; Ruscheweyh et al., 2011) and spatial (Erickson and Kramer, 2009; Erickson et al., 2010, 2011) memory tasks as well as in”
From Aerobic Exercise as a Tool to Improve Hippocampal Plasticity and Function in Humans: Practical Implications for Mental Health Treatment (2016) · cites this paper as Sabia et al., 2009
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Current concepts in mild cognitive impairment
Petersen, R. C., Doody, R., Kurz, A., Mohs, R. C., Morris, J. C., Rabins, P. V., Ritchie, K., Rossor, M., Thal, L., & Winblad, B. (2001) · Archives of Neurology · doi:10.1001/archneur.58.12.1985 · Cited by 4,781 · see citing works
Health inequalities among British civil servants: the Whitehall II study
Marmot, M. G., Stansfeld, S. A., Patel, C., North, F. M., Head, J. A., White, I. R., Brunner, E. J., Feeney, A., Marmot, M. G., & Smith, G. D. (1991) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/0140-6736(91)93068-k · Cited by 3,571 · see citing works
Self-citationMild Cognitive Impairment Represents Early-Stage Alzheimer Disease
Morris, J. C., Storandt, M., Miller, J. P., McKeel, D. W., Price, J. L., Rubin, E. H., & Berg, L. (2001) · Archives of Neurology · doi:10.1001/archneur.58.3.397 · Cited by 1,833 · see citing works
Kivipelto, M., Helkala, E.-L., Laakso, M. P., Hänninen, T., Hallikainen, M., Alhainen, K., Soininen, H., Tuomilehto, J., & Nissinen, A. (2001) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7300.1447 · Cited by 1,618 · see citing works
Larson, E. B., Wang, L., Bowen, J. D., McCormick, W. C., Teri, L., Crane, P., & Kukull, W. (2006) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-144-2-200601170-00004 · Cited by 1,463 · see citing works
Borkowski, J. G., Benton, A. L., & Spreen, O. (1967) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(67)90015-2 · Cited by 1,324 · see citing works
Smoking as a Risk Factor for Dementia and Cognitive Decline: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies
Anstey, K. J., von Sanden, C., Salim, A., & O'Kearney, R. (2007) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwm116 · Cited by 921 · see citing works
Cardiovascular risk factors and cognitive decline in middle-aged adults
Knopman, D., Boland, L. L., Mosley, T., Howard, G., Liao, D., Szklo, M., McGovern, P., & Folsom, A. R. (2001) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.56.1.42 · Cited by 883 · see citing works
Khaw, K.-T., Wareham, N., Bingham, S., Welch, A., Luben, R., & Day, N. (2008) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050012 · Cited by 840 · see citing works
Executive functions and their disorders
Elliott, R. (2003) · British Medical Bulletin · doi:10.1093/bmb/65.1.49 · Cited by 792 · see citing works
Midlife vascular risk factors and late-life mild cognitive impairment: A population-based study
Kivipelto, M., Helkala, E.-L., Hänninen, T., Laakso, M. P., Hallikainen, M., Alhainen, K., Soininen, H., Tuomilehto, J., & Nissinen, A. (2001) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.56.12.1683 · Cited by 717 · see citing works
The prevalence and clustering of four major lifestyle risk factors in an English adult population
Poortinga, W. (2006) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2006.10.006 · Cited by 550 · see citing works
Alcohol consumption and risk of dementia: the Rotterdam Study
Ruitenberg, A., Swieten, J. C. V., Witteman, J. C. M., Mehta, K. M., van Duijn, C. M., Albert Hofman, D., & Breteler, M. M. B. (2002) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(02)07493-7 · Cited by 549 · see citing works
Prospective Study of Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Dementia in Older Adults
Mukamal, K. J., Kuller, L. H., Fitzpatrick, A. L., Longstreth, W. T., Mittleman, M. A., & Siscovick, D. S. (2003) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.289.11.1405 · Cited by 517 · see citing works
Ikeda, M. (2002) · Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry · doi:10.1136/jnnp.73.4.371 · Cited by 499 · see citing works
Chiuve, S. E., McCullough, M. L., Sacks, F. M., & Rimm, E. B. (2006) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/circulationaha.106.621417 · Cited by 477 · see citing works
Combined impact of lifestyle factors on mortality: prospective cohort study in US women
Dam, R. M. V., Li, T., Spiegelman, D., Franco, O. H., & Hu, F. B. (2008) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.a1440 · Cited by 462 · see citing works
Alcohol, dementia and cognitive decline in the elderly: a systematic review
Peters, R., Peters, J., Warner, J., Beckett, N., & Bulpitt, C. (2008) · Age and Ageing · doi:10.1093/ageing/afn095 · Cited by 453 · see citing works
Dietary factors and Alzheimer's disease
Luchsinger, J. A., & Mayeux, R. P. (2004) · The Lancet Neurology · doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(04)00878-6 · Cited by 434 · see citing works
Associations of vegetable and fruit consumption with age-related cognitive change
Morris, M. C., Evans, D. A., Tangney, C. C., Bienias, J. L., & Wilson, R. S. (2006) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000240224.38978.d8 · Cited by 404 · see citing works
Meeting recommendations for multiple healthy lifestyle factors
Pronk, N. P., Anderson, L. H., Crain, A. L., Martinson, B. C., O’Connor, P. J., Sherwood, N. E., & Whitebird, R. R. (2004) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2004.04.022 · Cited by 398 · see citing works
Effects of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Cognitive Function in Women
Stampfer, M. J., Kang, J. H., Chen, J., Cherry, R., & Grodstein, F. (2005) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmoa041152 · Cited by 396 · see citing works
Ritchie, K. A., & Lovestone, S. (2002) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(02)11667-9 · Cited by 386 · see citing works
A life-course approach to the aetiology of late-onset dementias
Whalley, L. J., Dick, F. D., & McNeill, G. (2005) · The Lancet Neurology · doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(05)70286-6 · Cited by 346 · see citing works
Physical activity in relation to cognitive decline in elderly men: The FINE Study
van Gelder, B. M., Tijhuis, M. A. R., Kalmijn, S., Giampaoli, S., Nissinen, A., & Kromhout, D. (2004) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000147474.29994.35 · Cited by 311 · see citing works
Fruit and vegetable consumption and cognitive decline in aging women
Kang, J. H., Ascherio, A., & Grodstein, F. (2005) · Annals of Neurology · doi:10.1002/ana.20476 · Cited by 300 · see citing works
Long-Term Effects of Childhood Obesity on Morbidity and Mortality
Maffeis, C., & Tatò, L. (2001) · Hormone Research in Paediatrics · doi:10.1159/000063462 · Cited by 266 · see citing works
Healthy lifestyle and the risk of stroke in women
Kurth, T., Moore, S. C., Gaziano, J. M., Kase, C. S., Stampfer, M. J., Berger, K., & Buring, J. E. (2006) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.166.13.1403 · Cited by 246 · see citing works
Yates, L. B., Djoussé, L., Kurth, T., Buring, J. E., & Gaziano, J. M. (2008) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2007.77 · Cited by 233 · see citing works
The elephant in the room — healthy brains in later life, epidemiology and public health
Brayne, C. (2007) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn2091 · Cited by 229 · see citing works
Alcohol consumption and cognitive function in late life: A longitudinal community study
Ganguli, M., Bilt, J. V., Saxton, J. A., Shen, C., & Dodge, H. H. (2005) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000180520.35181.24 · Cited by 190 · see citing works
Singh-Manoux, A., Hillsdon, M., Brunner, E., & Marmot, M. (2005) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2004.055574 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
Self-citationDemographic, health, cognitive, and sensory variables as predictors of mortality in very old adults.
Anstey, K. J., Luszcz, M. A., Giles, L. C., & Andrews, G. R. (2001) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/0882-7974.16.1.3 · Cited by 181 · see citing works
The neuropsychology of vascular cognitive impairment: is there a specific cognitive deficit?
Desmond, D. W. (2004) · Journal of the Neurological Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.jns.2004.09.002 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Serum Cholesterol and Cognitive Performance in the Framingham Heart Study
Elias, P. K., Elias, M. F., D’Agostino, R. B., SULLIVAN, L. M., & Wolf, P. A. (2005) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000151745.67285.c2 · Cited by 168 · see citing works
Knoops, K. T. B., de Groot, L. C. P. G. M., Kromhout, D., Perrin, A.-E., Moreiras-Varela, O., Menotti, A., & van Staveren, W. A. (2004) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.292.12.1433 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Smoking History and Cognitive Function in Middle Age From the Whitehall II Study
Sabia, S. (2008) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.168.11.1165 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
Self-citationWill a Healthy Lifestyle Help Prevent Alzheimer's Disease?
Pope, S. K., Shue, V. M., & Beck, C. K. (2003) · Annual Review of Public Health · doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.24.100901.141015 · Cited by 127 · see citing works
Espeland, M. A. (2005) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwi043 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Chertkow, H. M. (2002) · Current Opinion in Neurology · doi:10.1097/00019052-200208000-00001 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Alcohol Consumption and Cognitive Function in the Whitehall II Study
Britton, A. (2004) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwh206 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
High blood pressure was associated with cognitive function in middle-age in the Whitehall II study
Singh‐Manoux, A., & Marmot, M. G. (2005) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2005.03.016 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Self-citationHigh-Normal Blood Pressure Is Associated With Poor Cognitive Performance
Knecht, S., Wersching, H., Lohmann, H., Bruchmann, M., Duning, T., Dziewas, R., Berger, K., & Ringelstein, E. B. (2008) · Hypertension · doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.107.105577 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Bullock, R. A. (2005) · Psychiatry · doi:10.1383/psyt.4.1.64.58310 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Physical activity and cognitive health
Jedrziewski, M. K., Lee, V. M. ‐., & Trojanowski, J. Q. (2007) · Alzheimer s & Dementia · doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2007.01.009 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Shifts in Thinking About Dementia
Hachinski, V. (2008) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2008.525 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Alagiakrishnan, K., McCracken, P., & Feldman, H. (2006) · Postgraduate Medical Journal · doi:10.1136/pgmj.2005.035030 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Recognition of Dementia Among Medical Patients
Roca, R. P. (1984) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.1984.00350130081017 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND MIDLIFE COGNITIVE CHANGE IN THE BRITISH 1946 BIRTH COHORT STUDY
Richards, M., Hardy, R., & Wadsworth, M. E. J. (2004) · Alcohol and Alcoholism · doi:10.1093/alcalc/agh126 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Cognitive impairment and the 10‐year survival probability of a normal 62‐year‐old population
Portin, R. I., Muuriaisniemi, M., Joukamaa, M. I., Saarijãrvi, S., Helenius, H. Y. M., & Salokangas, R. K. R. (2001) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/1467-9450.00247 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Recognition of dementia among medical patients
Roca, R. P. (1984) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.144.1.73 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Internet crawler uses unconventional information sources to track infectious disease outbreaks
Mayor, S. (2008) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.a742 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- [51]WHO Fruit and vegetables for health Report of a joint F AO/WHO workshop [electronic article]. http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/fruit_vegetables_reportpdf 2004
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Physical Activity and Cognitive Vitality
Prakash, R. S., Voss, M. W., Erickson, K. I., & Kramer, A. F. (2015) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015249 · Cited by 376 · see citing works
Association of Cardiovascular Health Level in Older Age With Cognitive Decline and Incident Dementia
Samieri, C., Perier, M.-C., Gaye, B., Proust-Lima, C., Helmer, C., Dartigues, J.-F., Berr, C., Tzourio, C., & Empana, J.-P. (2018) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2018.11499 · Cited by 293 · see citing works
Combining modifiable risk factors and risk of dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Peters, R., Booth, A., Rockwood, K., Peters, J., D’Este, C., & Anstey, K. J. (2019) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022846 · Cited by 255 · see citing works
Moderate alcohol consumption and cognitive risk
Neafsey, E., & Collins, M. (2011) · Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment · doi:10.2147/ndt.s23159 · Cited by 205 · see citing works
What did you do yesterday? A meta-analysis of sex differences in episodic memory.
Asperholm, M., Högman, N., Rafi, J., & Herlitz, A. (2019) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000197 · Cited by 182 · see citing works
Cardiovascular health through young adulthood and cognitive functioning in midlife
Reis, J. P., Loria, C. M., Launer, L. J., Sidney, S., Liu, K., Jacobs, D. R., Zhu, N., Lloyd‐Jones, D. M., He, K., & Yaffe, K. (2013) · Annals of Neurology · doi:10.1002/ana.23836 · Cited by 168 · see citing works
Lafortune, L., Martin, S., Kelly, S., Kuhn, I., Remes, O., Cowan, A., & Brayne, C. (2016) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0144405 · Cited by 165 · see citing works
Kandola, A., Hendrikse, J., Lucassen, P. J., & Yücel, M. (2016) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2016.00373 · Cited by 155 · see citing works
Prediction of brain age and cognitive age: quantifying brain and cognitive maintenance in aging
Anatürk, M., Kaufmann, T., Cole, J. H., Suri, S., Griffanti, L., Zsoldos, E., Filippini, N., Singh‐Manoux, A., Kivimäki, M., Westlye, L. T., et al. (2021) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.25316 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Self-citationCaunca, M. R., Odden, M. C., Glymour, M. M., Elfassy, T., Kershaw, K. N., Sidney, S., Yaffe, K., Launer, L., & Zeki Al Hazzouri, A. (2020) · JAMA Neurology · doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.0860 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Cognitive function and associated factors among older people in Taiwan: Age and sex differences
Li, C.-L., & Hsu, H.-C. (2015) · Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics · doi:10.1016/j.archger.2014.10.007 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
healthy lifestyle and cardiac vagal modulation over 10 years: whitehall II cohort study
Jandackova, V. K., Scholes, S., Britton, A., & Steptoe, A. (2019) · Journal of the American Heart Association · doi:10.1161/jaha.119.012420 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Sabia, S., Guéguen, A., Berr, C., Berkman, L., Ankri, J., Goldberg, M., Zins, M., & Singh-Manoux, A. (2011) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03106.x · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Self-citationHwang, P. H., Ang, T. F. A., De Anda‐Duran, I., Liu, X., Liu, Y., Gurnani, A., Mez, J., Auerbach, S., Joshi, P., Yuan, J., et al. (2023) · Alzheimer's & Dementia · doi:10.1002/alz.12940 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
- Authors
- Sabia, S., Nabi, H., Kivimaki, M., Shipley, M. J., Marmot, M. G., & Singh-Manoux, A.
- Affiliations
- Inserm (FR)
- University College London (GB)
- Venue
- American Journal of Epidemiology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2009-07-02
- Volume
- 170
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 428-437
- ISSN
- 0002-9262 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-6256
- PMC
- PMC2727179
- OpenAlex
- W2137664821
- Cited by
- 162
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 6.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- American Journal of Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- British Heart Foundation (RG/07/008/23674)
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG034454, AG 13196, R37AG013196, R01AG013196)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL36310, R01HL036310)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Health and Risk Factors
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Lifestyle Studies
- Keywords
- health behavior, cognitive function, executive function, memory, midlife, smoking, alcohol abstinence, physical inactivity, fruit and vegetable intake, Whitehall II study
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Alcohol Drinking, Cognition Disorders, Feeding Behavior, Female, United Kingdom, Humans, Life Style, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Memory Disorders, Middle Aged, Risk, Smoking, Health Behavior, Exercise
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
