High risk did not mean most cases of combined health problems
Later physical illness with cognitive impairment affected 18.9% of adults starting with cognitive impairment alone, a relative risk of 9.68 versus initially healthy adults.
43,010 participants, multicenter
Limit: Only 18,363 of the 43,010 participants were observed at the final wave
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
An observational study included 43,010 adults aged 45 or older who were initially healthy or affected in just one health area. These areas were physical illness, symptoms of depression and cognitive impairment—problems with thinking or memory. Researchers combined five survey waves from three cohorts spanning 2010–2020.
Adults starting with cognitive impairment alone had the highest individual risk of having both physical illness and cognitive impairment at the final wave. Yet they accounted for only 2.8% of those combined cases. Adults starting with physical illness alone had lower individual risk but accounted for 78.9% of cases because they were more common at the start. The distinction separated the group at greatest individual risk from the group contributing most cases.
Why it matters
For middle-aged and older adults with physical illness, the authors said the findings support monitoring cognitive abilities and everyday functioning.
Caveats
Only 18,363 of the 43,010 participants were observed at the final wave, and the observational findings do not imply cause and effect. The study began with healthy adults or those affected in only one health area, not people already affected across several areas.
- Cognitive impairment
- Depressive symptoms
- Multimorbidity
- Somatic disease
- Somatic-cognitive involvement
- Humans
The paper
Shanxi Medical University
Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Jul 13, 2026
