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The Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA) is a large-scale, public health study involving a representative sample of men and women aged 50 years and over living in Northern Ireland.

The primary objective of NICOLA is to collect longitudinal multidisciplinary data across a wide range of domains to be used for investigation and research relevant to ageing and making Northern Ireland a better place to grow old in.

NICOLA collects extensive information on all aspects of health, social and economic circumstances of ~8500 men and women as they grow older in Northern Ireland over a series of data collection waves approximately every 2-3 years.

Longer term research goals will investigate the determinants of retirement behaviour and economic wellbeing, the impact of cognitive function and sensory disability on decision making, the determinants of disability trajectories, the influence of social participation on these and the interaction of genetic, biological and psychosocial determinants on health and mortality.

There has been one sweep of data collection (2013 2016) and a second is currently underway (2017 – )

The Vallecas Project is developed in the Research Unit of the Alzheimer’s Center of the Reina Sofía Foundation by researchers of the CIEN Foundation. Its main objective is to determine a probabilistic algorithm for the identification of individuals at risk of dementia type Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the course of a few years. This algorithm will be based on the combination of sociodemographic, clinical, neurological, neuropsychological, biological (from blood determinations) and neuroimaging (various 3 Tesla magnetic resonance modalities).

The recruitment phase of the Vallecas Project participants was extended from October 2011 to December 2013. Finally, a total of 1,213 volunteers aged between 70 and 85 and of both sexes were initially evaluated. Once included in the study, it is monitored annually for 5 years in order to assess the evolutionary profile of all participants, specifically identifying those who develop cognitive impairment and / or dementia. The cohort is being followed up annually for 4 years after the baseline.

The Health 2000 Survey, carried out in 2000-2001 in Finland, was coordinated by the National Institute for Health and Welfare, THL (the former National Public Health Institute) in co-operation with an extensive network of organizations and experts. The aim of the survey was to provide information on major public health problems, their causes and treatment, health service needs and utilization as well as functional and working capacity. The data for the survey were collected in comprehensive health examination including blood sampling, in interviews and in self-administered questionnaires. The nationally representative sample included 8,028 persons aged 30 or over of whom 85% participated in the health examination conducted at 80 areas in the mainland Finland. In addition, 1,894 young adults (18-29 years) were invited to the health interview and fill in the questionnaire. Further, 1,278 people who had taken part in Mini-Finland Health Survey carried out in 1978-1980 were invited to the re-examination.

The follow-up of the Health 2000 Survey, the Health 2011 Survey, was carried out in 2011-2012. All members of the Health 2000 sample (n=8,135), who were living in Finland in 2011 and had not refused requests to be invited to further studies, were invited to the Health 2011 Survey. In 2011, they were at least 29 years of age. A total of 59% of them participated in the health examination conducted at 59 areas in Finland. In addition, a new random sample of young adults (aged 18-28, n=1,994) was taken. A total of 415 of them were invited to the health examination and the rest of them (1,579) received only the postal questionnaire. Further, 920 people who had previously taken part in the Mini-Finland Health Survey and invited to re-examination in 2001 were invited.

The Health 2000/2011 cohort is also continuously followed-up by linkage to Finnish nationwide registers.

The Lifelines Cohort Study is a large population-based cohort study and biobank that was established as a resource for research on complex interactions between environmental, phenotypic and genomic factors in the development of chronic diseases and healthy ageing. The Lifelines cohort distinguishes a children’s cohort (aged 0-18), an adult cohort (aged 18-65) and the elderly cohort (aged 65+). The protocol for these three sub-cohorts is largely the same, but focuses in part on the characteristics of the specific participant groups.

Between 2006 and 2013, inhabitants of the northern part of The Netherlands and their families were invited to participate, thereby contributing to a three-generation design. Follow-up visits are scheduled every 5 years, and in between participants receive follow-up questionnaires. Linkage is being established with medical registries and environmental data. Lifelines contains information on biochemistry, medical history, psychosocial characteristics, lifestyle and more. Genomic data are available including genome-wide genetic data of 15638 participants. Fasting blood and 24-h urine samples are processed on the day of collection and stored at -80 °C in a fully automated storage facility. The aim of Lifelines is to be a resource for the national and international scientific community. Requests for data and biomaterials can be submitted to the Lifelines Research Office ([email protected]).

The Vitality 90+ Study (in Finnish: Tervaskannot 90+) is a multidisciplinary project focusing on longevity and the oldest-old. The sub-projects address the biological basis of aging, predictors of health, functioning and longevity, old age as an individual experience, and the need for and use of care and services. The research is motivated by the rapid changes in the population structure and by the increase in real longevity.

Data was collected through mailed surveys with whole cohorts of people aged 90+ in Tampere, face-to-face interviews and performance tests and blood samples. The mailed surveys were conducted with all community-dwelling people in 1996 and 1998, and with both community-dwelling and institutionalized people four times since 2001.

The CARTaGENE (CaG) study is both a population-based biobank and the largest ongoing prospective health study of men and women in Quebec. CaG targeted the segment of the population that is most at risk of developing chronic disorders, that is 40-69 years of age, from six census metropolitan areas in Quebec. The sampling was stratified by age, sex and postal groups and is proportional to the density of the population in these areas. Over 43,000 participants consented to visiting 1 of 12 assessment sites where detailed health and socio-demographic information, physiological measures and biological samples (blood, serum and urine) were captured. Participants are followed-up based on linkage to governmental health administrative databases and direct reassessment through a web portal.

Last update 21/09/2017

AIBL is a study of over 2,000 people assessed over a long period of time (over 10 years) to determine which biomarkers, cognitive characteristics, and health and lifestyle factors determine subsequent development of symptomatic Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).

The baseline inception cohort consisted of:
i. 211 individuals with AD as defined by NINCDS-ADRDA (McKhann et al, 1984);
ii. 133 individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
iii. 768 healthy individuals without cognitive impairment. This group included volunteers with at least one copy of the ApoE ?4 allele, volunteers without a copy of the ApoE ?4 allele and 396 volunteers who expressed subjective concern about their memory function.

The enrichment cohort consists of:
i. 142 individuals with AD
ii. 220 individuals with MCI
iii. 582 individuals with without cognitive impairment.

The data was collected through clinics and questionnaires.

Last Update 21/09/2017

The Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ALSA) is the centrepiece research activity of the Flinders Centre for Ageing Studies. The ALSA commenced in 1992 with 2087 participants aged 65 years or more. At Baseline, a comprehensive personal interview and assessment of neuropsychological and physiological functions was undertaken at each person’s home, supplemented by self-completed questionnaires, biochemistry, and additional clinical studies of physical function. The final wave (Wave 13) of data collection was carried out in 2014.

The general purpose of the ALSA study is to gain further understanding of how social, biomedical and environmental factors are associated with age related changes in health and well-being of persons aged 70 years and over. Emphasis is given in the overall study to defining and exploring the concept of healthy, active ageing, particularly in a South Australian context.

Last Update 21/09/2017