Reanalyzing the impact of cognitive training over 20 years in the ACTIVE study: Losing the forest in the trees.

Authors

William T Dickens

Published in

Alzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.). Volume 12. Issue 2. Pages e70280. Epub Jun 22, 2026.

Abstract

This paper reanalyzes the 20-year follow-up to the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) cognitive training trial, which evaluated whether memory, reasoning, and speed-of-processing training reduce dementia risk in older adults.
Published hazard ratios and confidence intervals from the follow-up were used to conduct Bonferroni-Dunn corrections, sign tests on the pattern of hazard ratios, and parametric modeling.
After Bonferroni-Dunn correction, all confidence intervals include a hazard ratio of 1. Sign tests reject both the hypothesis of no training effect and the hypothesis that only one training type is effective. Generalized method of moments estimation of parametric models suggests a common protective effect for all treatments concentrated in the youngest age group.
Preregistration strengthens claims of statistical significance, but interpretation need not be limited to the preregistered analytical framework when alternative analyses reveal consistent patterns.

PMID:
42339399
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 24 Jun 2026.

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