Dr Graciela Muniz Terrera
Alzheimer's Society
United Kingdom
Evidence synthesis of trajectories of cognitive change due to chronological age, death and preclinical dementia.
Alzheimer's Society
178,798
01/02/13
3.0
Alzheimer's disease & other dementias
Understanding within-person cognitive trajectories is necessary to identify antecedent conditions, potential modifiers, moderating factors and causal processes leading to such trajectories. Education is associated to cognitive decline, but evidence is mixed. Aims are to: (1) synthesise evidence about within-person trajectories of cognitive decline in global and specific cognitive abilities induced by ageing, dementia and proximity to death, (2) synthesise evidence about the effect of education on such trajectories and (3) extend existing methodologies to achieve (1) and (2). Aggregate, individual and a mix of both types of data from published reports, studies members of the IALSA network and from newly identified studies of ageing will be used. Cross study national and international comparisons of trajectories of cognitive decline will be performed. Synthesis about the effect of education on cognitive trajectories of global and specific cognitive abilities due to ageing, proximity to death and preclinical dementia will permit cross national and international comparisons. Standard and alternative formulations of latent growth models will be considered to improve fulfilment of the models distributional assumptions. New and strong evidence about within-person trajectories of cognitive decline and about the effect of education on these trajectories will emerge