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Williams JW, Plassman BL, Burke J, et al. Preventing Alzheimer's Disease and Cognitive Decline. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2010 Apr. (Evidence Reports/Technology Assessments, No. 193.)

  • This publication is provided for historical reference only and the information may be out of date.

This publication is provided for historical reference only and the information may be out of date.

Appendix AExact Search Strings

Our search strategy to identify systematic reviews combined terms specific to the risk factor or intervention, terms for Alzheimer’s disease or cognitive impairment, and the PubMed filter for systematic reviews. We used a similar strategy in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

  1. (Terms for the exposures), AND
  2. (Terms for the outcome of interest (AD or cognitive decline)), AND
  3. Systematic[sb]

Our search strategy to identify original research combined terms specific to the risk factor or intervention, terms for Alzheimer’s disease or cognitive impairment, and terms for the relevant study designs. We limited the search to studies in humans, age 45+, and published in English. We excluded studies conducted in special populations.

For KQ 1 and KQ2, we used the following general search strategy, utilizing the specific terms that follow:

  1. (Terms for the exposures), AND
  2. (Terms for the outcome of interest (AD or cognitive decline)), AND
  3. (Terms for observational study designs)
  4. NOT (Terms for excluded non general population samples)
  5. NOT (Terms for excluded publication types)
  6. Limits (Human, English, Age 45+)

For KQ 3 and KQ4, we used the following general search strategy, utilizing the specific terms that follow:

  1. (Terms for the exposures), AND
  2. (Terms for the outcome of interest (AD or cognitive decline)), AND
  3. (Terms for randomized controlled trial study designs)
  4. NOT (Terms for excluded non general population samples)
  5. NOT (Terms for excluded publication types)
  6. Limits (Human, English, Age 45+)

SPECIFIC SEARCH TERMS

KQ1 and KQ2: Terms for Exposures

Sleep apnea syndromes[Mesh] OR “sleep apnea”[tw] OR (obstructive[all fields] AND sleep[all fields] AND apnea[all fields])

Obesity[Mesh] OR overweight[mesh]

Diabetes mellitus[Mesh]

Intelligence tests[Mesh] or “IQ”[Title/abstract] OR “aptitude tests”[mesh]

Metabolic syndrome x[Mesh] OR insulin resistance[Mesh] OR Hyperinsulinism/*epidemiology/psychology

“TBI”[All fields] OR “traumatic brain injury”[All fields] OR (“traumatic” AND “brain” AND “injury”) OR craniocerebral trauma[mesh]

Hypertension[mesh]

Educational status[mesh]

Employment[mesh] OR "occupational status"[Title/abstract] OR retirement[mesh]

Literacy[tw] OR illiterate*[tw] OR illiteracy[tw] OR reading[mesh]

"Social Identification"[Mesh] OR "Social Isolation"[Mesh] OR "Social Desirability"[Mesh] OR "Social Adjustment"[Mesh] OR "Social Conformity"[Mesh] OR "Social Behavior"[Mesh:noexp] OR "Social Environment"[Mesh] OR “Interpersonal Relations"[Mesh:noexp] OR family conflict[mesh] OR (social AND (network* OR engage* OR participat*)) OR “marital status”[mesh]

(("Resilience, Psychological"[Mesh]) OR (resilienc*)) OR ((depressive disorder) OR (depression[MeSH])) OR (anxiety[MeSH] OR "anxiety disorders"[Mesh])

homocysteine[mesh] OR homocysteine[all fields] OR homocyst*[title/abstract]

smoking[MeSH] OR Nicotine[MeSH] OR (tobacco[All Fields] AND smoking[All Fields]) OR (Cigarette[All Fields] AND Smoking[All Fields])

Persian Gulf Syndrome[MeSH] OR (Gulf[All Fields] AND War[All Fields] AND Syndrome*[All Fields]) OR (Gulf[All Fields] AND War[All Fields] AND Illness*[All Fields])

Environmental Pollutants[MeSH] OR (Environmen*[All Fields] AND Pollut*[All Fields])

Agent Orange[substance name] OR Agent orange[all fields] OR tetrachlorodibenzodioxin[Mesh] OR tetrachlorodibenzodioxin[all fields] OR “2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid”[mesh] OR “2.4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid[all fields]

Pesticides[MeSH] OR Pesticides[All Fields]

((childhood[tw] OR child[tw] OR children[tw]) AND socioecono*[tw]) OR ((childhood[tw] OR child[tw] OR children[tw]) AND exposure*[tw]) OR ((childhood[tw] OR child[tw] OR children[tw]) AND “urban population”[Mesh]) OR ((childhood[tw] OR child[tw] OR children[tw]) AND “rural population”[Mesh])

KQ 1, KQ2, KQ3, KQ4: Terms for exposures and/or interventions

Dietary supplements[Mesh] OR “ginkgo biloba”[tw] OR “ginkgo biloba”[Mesh] OR pregnenolone[mesh] OR pregnenolone[tw] OR huperzine[tw]

Antioxidants[mesh] OR Antioxidants[pharmacological action] OR resveratrol[all fields] OR “ascorbic acid”[mesh] OR “vitamin e”[mesh] OR tocopherols[mesh]

Vitamins[Mesh] OR [pharmacological action] OR trace elements [pharmacological action]

Gonadal steroid hormones[mesh] OR Dehydroepiandrosterone[mesh] OR “DHEA”[title/abstract] OR leuprolide[mesh] OR leuprolide[tw] OR lupron[tw] OR “estrogens, conjugated (usp)"[MeSH Terms] OR premarin[tw] OR “conjugated estrogens”[all fields] OR gonadotropin*[tw] OR Phytoestrogens [Pharmacological Action]

“Nutritional status”[mesh] OR “nutrition assessment”[mesh] OR “diet therapy”[mesh] OR “diet, fat-restricted”[mesh] OR “diet, Mediterranean”[mesh] OR “Mediterranean diet”[all fields] OR “diet, vegetarian”[mesh] OR “diet, atherogenic”[mesh] OR “dietary fats”[mesh] OR fruit[mesh] OR vegetables[mesh] OR phytoestrogens[pharmacological action] OR “fatty acids, omega-3”[mesh] OR “fish oil”[tw]

Video games[mesh] OR puzzle*[tw] OR “memory training”[tw] OR “cognitive training”[tw] OR (“cognitive”[tw] AND “training”[tw])

(((((((("Diuretics"[Mesh] OR "Diuretics "[Pharmacological Action])) OR ("Calcium Channel Blockers"[Mesh] OR "Calcium Channel Blockers "[Pharmacological Action])) OR ("Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors"[Mesh] OR "Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors "[Pharmacological Action])) OR ("Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists"[Mesh] OR "Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists "[Pharmacological Action])) OR ("Adrenergic beta-Antagonists"[Mesh] OR "Adrenergic beta-Antagonists "[Pharmacological Action])) OR ("Ganglionic Blockers"[Mesh] OR "Ganglionic Blockers "[Pharmacological Action])) OR ("Vasodilator Agents"[Mesh] OR "Vasodilator Agents "[Pharmacological Action]) AND ("Hypertension"[Mesh])) OR ("Antihypertensive Agents"[Mesh] OR "Antihypertensive Agents "[Pharmacological Action])

leisure activities[mesh] OR "leisure activity"[title/abstract] OR "leisure activities"[title/abstract] OR travel[mesh] OR travel[title/abstract]

exercise[mesh] OR "physical fitness"[mesh] OR running[mesh] OR swimming[mesh] OR walking[mesh]

(("Anti-Inflammatory Agents"[Mesh] OR "Anti-Inflammatory Agents "[Pharmacological Action])) OR ("Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal"[Mesh] OR "Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal "[Pharmacological Action])

(("Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors"[MeSH Terms]) OR ("Hydroxymethylglutaryl-coa"[All fields] AND "reductase"[All fields] AND "inhibitors"[All fields]) OR "Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors"[All fields] OR "statins"[All fields] OR "statin"[All fields] OR "Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors"[Pharmacological Action] OR (rosuvastatin) OR (simvastatin) OR (pravastatin) OR (atorvastatin) OR (fluvastatin) OR (lovastatin) OR (cerivastatin) OR (compactin) OR (meglutol) OR ("red yeast rice" OR ("red" AND "yeast" AND "rice")))

(("Thiazolidinediones"[Mesh]) OR ("Metformin"[Mesh]) OR ("insulin-sensitivity"[All fields]) OR ("insulin-sensitizing"[All fields]) OR ("insulin"[All fields] AND ("sensitivity"[All fields] OR "sensitizing"[All fields]))) OR (metformin[all fields]) OR (Thiazolidinedione*[all fields])

"cholinergic antagonists"[MeSH Terms] OR "cholinergic antagonists"[Pharmacological Action]

((galantamine) OR (donepezil) OR (rivastigmine) OR (memantine))

KQ 1, KQ2, KQ3, KQ4: Terms for Observational study designs

((Epidemiologic Studies[Mesh:noexp] OR case-control studies[Mesh] OR cohort studies[Mesh] OR seroepidemiologic studies[Mesh]) OR cohort OR cohorts OR observ* OR case-control OR non-randomized OR nonrandomized OR unrandomized OR prospectiv* OR retrospectiv* OR follow* OR longitudinal OR (cases AND controls)) AND (odds ratio[Mesh] OR "odds ratio" OR "relative risk" OR risk OR risks OR associat* OR causality OR etiology OR epidemiology OR ethnology OR probability OR inciden*)

Because of the high degree of overlap between terms for emotional health factors cognitive decline, we limited the terms for observational study designs

((Epidemiologic Studies[Mesh:noexp] OR cohort studies[Mesh] OR follow* OR longitudinal) AND (odds ratio[Mesh] OR "odds ratio" OR "relative risk" OR risk OR risks OR inciden* OR etiology OR causality))

KQ 3, KQ4: Terms for RCTs (sensitive strategy)

((clinical[Title/Abstract] AND trial[Title/Abstract]) OR clinical trials[MeSH Terms] OR clinical trial[Publication Type] OR random*[Title/Abstract] OR random allocation[MeSH Terms] OR therapeutic use[MeSH Subheading])

KQ 1, KQ 3: Terms for Alzheimers disease

Alzheimer* OR alzheimer disease[mesh]

KQ 2, KQ4: Terms for mild cognitive impairment or cognitive decline

(((cognitiv* OR cognition OR memory) AND (declin* OR impair* OR deteriora* OR change* OR deficit* OR complaint*)) OR "Cognition Disorders"[Mesh:noexp]) OR ("pre-clinical AD" OR "preclinical AD" OR "pre-clinical Alzheimer" OR "preclinical alzheimer")

KQ1, KQ2, KQ3, KQ4: Terms to exclude non general population or non-general medical samples

schizophrenia[mesh] OR schizophrenia[all fields] OR “down syndrome”[mesh] OR “down syndrome”[all fields] OR “psychotic disorders”[mesh] OR “psychosis”[all fields] OR "substance-related disorders"[MeSH Terms] OR “substance abuse”[all fields] OR epilepsy[mesh] OR epilepsy[all fields] OR “seizure disorder”[all fields] OR “Parkinson disease”[mesh] OR “Parkinson disease”[all fields]

KQ1, KQ2, KQ3, KQ4: Terms to exclude selected Publication types

review, letter

KQ1, KQ2, KQ3, KQ4: Terms to Limit to the samples of interest

human, English, age 45+