Guidelines for reporting methodological challenges and evaluating potential bias in dementia research

International audienceClinical and population research on dementia and related neurologic conditions, including Alzheimer’sdisease, faces several unique methodological challenges. Progress to identify preventive andtherapeutic strategies rests on valid and rigorous analytic approaches, but the research literature reflectslittle consensus on “best practices.” We present findings from a large scientific working group onresearch methods for clinical and population studies of dementia, which identified five categories ofmethodological challenges as follows: (1) attrition/sample selection, including selective survival; (2)measurement, including uncertainty in diagnostic criteria, measurement error in neuropsychological assessments,and practice or retest effects; (3) specification of longitudinal models when participants arefollowed for months, years, or even decades; (4) time-varyingmeasurements; and (5) high-dimensionaldata.We explainwhy each challenge is important indementia research and howit could compromise thetranslation of research findings into effective prevention or care strategies. We advance a checklist ofpotential sources of bias that should be routinely addressed when reporting dementia research