IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v371y2025ics0277953625002278.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Natural disaster-induced dementia and cognitive decline: A meta-analysis and systematic review

Author

Listed:
  • Thompson, Jacob
  • Vasefi, Maryam

Abstract

Recently, some studies have noted a negative cognitive impact on individuals in the aftermath of large-scale natural disasters; however, the causal relationship between disasters and cognitive/neurodegenerative effects remains widely unexplored. This review analyzes the impact of natural disasters on the development of cognitive decline (CD), all-cause dementia, and Alzheimer's disease (AD) in disaster-affected individuals. Studies reported from their inception to August 2023 were obtained via public online databases. All data presented in this review was derived from precalculated study results, data presented within/alongside articles, or statistics calculated using data obtained by contacting the articles' authors for ancillary information. Data from 28 studies, representing 4,606,561 individuals, 158,994 CD events, 179,694 dementia events, and 47,193 AD events was included for analysis. The pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) estimates showed that natural disasters significantly increased the risk of CD (OR: 1.25, CI: 1.20–1.30), all-cause dementia (OR: 1.07, CI: 1.05–1.08), and AD (OR: 1.07, CI: 1.05–1.10) in disaster victims as opposed to less- or non-impacted individuals. The greatest effects were noted following hurricanes, earthquakes with tsunamis, and heat waves. The findings from this meta-analysis indicate that natural disasters are significantly associated with the development of CD, all-cause dementia, and AD.

Suggested Citation

  • Thompson, Jacob & Vasefi, Maryam, 2025. "Natural disaster-induced dementia and cognitive decline: A meta-analysis and systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 371(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:371:y:2025:i:c:s0277953625002278
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117898
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953625002278
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117898?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hikichi, Hiroyuki & Aida, Jun & Matsuyama, Yusuke & Tsuboya, Toru & Kondo, Katsunori & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2020. "Community-level social capital and cognitive decline after a natural disaster: A natural experiment from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    2. Isobel E M Evans & David J Llewellyn & Fiona E Matthews & Robert T Woods & Carol Brayne & Linda Clare & on behalf of the CFAS-Wales research team, 2018. "Social isolation, cognitive reserve, and cognition in healthy older people," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(8), pages 1-14, August.
    3. Robbie M. Parks & G. Brooke Anderson & Rachel C. Nethery & Ana Navas-Acien & Francesca Dominici & Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou, 2021. "Tropical cyclone exposure is associated with increased hospitalization rates in older adults," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Neumayer, Eric & Plümper, Thomas & Barthel, Fabian, 2014. "The political economy of natural disaster damage," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 50699, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Crooks, V.C. & Lubben, J. & Petitti, D.B. & Little, D. & Chiu, V., 2008. "Social network, cognitive function, and dementia incidence among elderly women," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 98(7), pages 1221-1227.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lisa Laininger & Nikolas Dietzel & Elmar Graessel & Hans-Ulrich Prokosch & Peter L Kolominsky-Rabas, 2024. "Impact of social network composition on cognitive decline: Digital Dementia Registry Bavaria (digiDEM Bayern)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(7), pages 1-12, July.
    2. Rachel L. Peterson & Kristen M. George & Duyen Tran & Pallavi Malladi & Paola Gilsanz & Amy J. H. Kind & Rachel A. Whitmer & Lilah M. Besser & Oanh L. Meyer, 2021. "Operationalizing Social Environments in Cognitive Aging and Dementia Research: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-19, July.
    3. Kaddour Mehiriz & Pierre Gosselin, 2016. "Municipalities' Preparedness for Weather Hazards and Response to Weather Warnings," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, September.
    4. Laura A. Bakkensen & Robert O. Mendelsohn, 2016. "Risk and Adaptation: Evidence from Global Hurricane Damages and Fatalities," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(3), pages 555-587.
    5. Young Bum Kim & Seung Hee Lee, 2022. "Gender Differences in Correlates of Loneliness among Community-Dwelling Older Koreans," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-11, June.
    6. Sajedeh Abbasi & Hamed Vahdat-Nejad & Hossein Moradi, 2024. "Harnessing trustable crowdsourcing power for flood disaster evaluation," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 120(9), pages 8723-8741, July.
    7. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Chen, Mei-Ping, 2020. "Do natural disasters and geopolitical risks matter for cross-border country exchange-traded fund returns?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    8. José Cárdenas & María J. Blanca & Fernando Carvajal & Sandra Rubio & Carmen Pedraza, 2021. "Emotional Processing in Healthy Ageing, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer’s Disease," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-14, March.
    9. Steven Stillman & Mirco Tonin, 2022. "Communities and testing for COVID-19," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(4), pages 617-625, June.
    10. Coronese, Matteo & Crippa, Federico & Lamperti, Francesco & Chiaromonte, Francesca & Roventini, Andrea, 2025. "Raided by the storm: How three decades of thunderstorms shaped U.S. incomes and wages," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    11. Jing Tan & Lei Lin, 2024. "Exploring key social capital indicators for disaster preparedness in rural disaster-prone areas: a boosted regression tree approach," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 120(5), pages 4159-4180, March.
    12. Haslam, Catherine & Cruwys, Tegan & Haslam, S. Alexander, 2014. "“The we's have it”: Evidence for the distinctive benefits of group engagement in enhancing cognitive health in aging," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 57-66.
    13. Nelda Mier & Marcia G. Ory & Samuel D. Towne & Matthew Lee Smith, 2017. "Relative Association of Multi-Level Supportive Environments on Poor Health among Older Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-16, April.
    14. Matthew Ranson & Lisa Tarquinio & Audrey Lew, 2016. "Modeling the Impact of Climate Change on Extreme Weather Losses," NCEE Working Paper Series 201602, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, revised May 2016.
    15. Graham, Carol & Nikolova, Milena, 2015. "Bentham or Aristotle in the Development Process? An Empirical Investigation of Capabilities and Subjective Well-Being," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 163-179.
    16. repec:plo:pmed00:1002862 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Murakami, Aya & Sugawara, Yumi & Tomata, Yasutake & Sugiyama, Kemmyo & Kaiho, Yu & Tanji, Fumiya & Tsuji, Ichiro, 2017. "Association between housing type and γ-GTP increase after the Great East Japan Earthquake," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 76-85.
    18. Fujihara, Satoko & Tsuji, Taishi & Nakagomi, Atsushi & Miyaguni, Yasuhiro & Hanazato, Masamichi & Muto, Go & Kondo, Katsunori, 2023. "Association of community-level social capital with dementia: A multilevel nine-year longitudinal study using data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    19. Bertinelli, Luisito & Mahé, Clotilde & Strobl, Eric, 2023. "Earthquakes and mental health," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    20. Hao-Teng Cheng & Ko-Wan Tsou, 2018. "Mitigation Policy Acceptance Model: An Analysis of Individual Decision Making Process toward Residential Seismic Strengthening," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-12, August.
    21. Sabatini, Serena & Martyr, Anthony & Gamble, Laura D. & Jones, Ian R. & Collins, Rachel & Matthews, Fiona E. & Knapp, Martin & Thom, Jeanette M. & Henderson, Catherine & Victor, Christina & Pentecost,, 2023. "Are profiles of social, cultural, and economic capital related to living well with dementia? Longitudinal findings from the IDEAL programme," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:371:y:2025:i:c:s0277953625002278. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.