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The overall goal was to establish a genetic-epidemiological database to shed light on the aging process among the extremely old, focusing on physical and cognitive functioning. In the first wave 2,262 Danes born in 1905 participated in a home-based 2-hour multidimensional interview, including cognitive and physical performance tests and collection of DNA, carried out by lay interviewers. Population-based registers were used to evaluate representativeness.

The first wave took place in 1998 and participants were followed-up in 2000 and 2003. In 2005 all the surviving birth cohort members were invited to participate irrespective of previous participation:

Wave 1: 2262 participants (1653 with biological sample)
Wave 2: 1086 participants
Wave 3: 437 participants
Wave 4: 256 participants

Last update – 30/01/2017

The AMPLE study has been set up to investigate differences and outcomes in those with Lewy body dementia with and without concurrent Alzheimer’s disease/pathology. The principle aim of AMPLE is to undertake amyloid PET imaging in Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) of 80 participants over the age of 60 and investigate the distribution of amyloid burden in LBD relative to AD and controls at baseline. A further aim is to determine the relationship between amyloid levels at baseline, clinical features of the disease, other imaging changes and subsequent clinical course in follow up.

Primary analysis would divide LBD patients into high and low amyloid burden with participants then compared on clinical features with AD-like symptoms and cognitive profiles. Follow up will be completed annually through surveys and clinical examinations.

Last update – 01/02/2017

Aims & objective

To find out the known as well as some new factors which increase the risk of occurrence of stroke (half body paralysis, Lakwa) and of memory problem and other brain related problems.
To identify a group of apparently healthy people (50 years and above), carry out their health check up and follow them up over several years to detect any health problems (like heart attack, lakwa, memory problems) with increasing age.
To investigate the prevalence and incidence of and risk factors for stroke and cognitive decline in the elderly.

Updates about the health of the participants will be obtained from telephone follow-ups every six months and physical check-ups every three years. The study is expected to last for at least 10 years.

Last update – 02/02/2017

ADNI began in October 2004. The overall goal is to validate biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials. One aim is to find, validate and standardize more sensitive and accurate methods to detect Alzheimer’s disease at earlier stages and mark its progress through biomarkers. The study gathered and analyzed thousands of brain scans, genetic profiles, and biomarkers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid that are used to measure the progress of disease or the effects of treatment. More information on ADNI-info.org. All data is publically available at USC/LONI/ADNI.

The three overarching longitudinal ADNI study goals are:

Validation of biomarkers, especially for amyloid and tau, for use in AD clinical trials.
To detect Alzheimer’s disease (AD) at the earliest stage possible and identify ways to track the disease through biomarkers.
To support advances in AD intervention, prevention and treatment through the application of new diagnostic methods to apply at the earliest stages technically possible – when intervention may be most effective.
To continually develop ADNI’s now- legendary data access policy and continuously improve and expand the unprecedented data sharing model.

Last update – 07/02/2017

The original purpose of the Add Health study was to help understand the causes of adolescent health and health behaviour with special emphasis on the effects of multiple contexts of adolescent life.

The cohort was then followed through their transition to adulthood and research turned to understanding the determinants and consequences of developmental and health trajectories from adolescence into adulthood.

Add Health combines longitudinal survey data on respondents social, economic, psychological and physical well-being with contextual data on the family, neighbourhood, community, school, friendships, peer groups, and romantic relationships, providing unique opportunities to study how social environments and behaviours in adolescence are linked to health and achievement outcomes in young adulthood. The fourth wave of interviews expanded the collection of biological data in Add Health to understand the social, behavioural, and biological linkages in health trajectories as the Add Health cohort ages through adulthood, and the fifth wave of data collection continues this biological data expansion (2016-2018).

Last update – 03/02/2017

The main objective of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) is to provide comprehensive longitudinal evidence base on health, social and economic wellbeing of elderly population in India.

LASI main wave’s covers 30 states and 6 union territories of India covering a panel sample size of 60,250 elderly persons aged 45 years and above. The long-term goal of LASI is to continue this survey for the next 25 years with the first wave planned in the year 2016-17 and second wave in 2018-19. LASI aims to obtain all the indicators for each of the 30 states and 6 union territories. In addition, LASI aims at obtaining indicators for each of the four metropolitan cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.

Last update – 10/02/2017

The first wave of the MIDUS study collected survey data from a total of 7,108 participants. The baseline sample was comprised of individuals from four subsamples:

a national RDD (random digit dialing) sample (n=3,487);
oversamples from five metropolitan areas in the U.S. (n=757)
siblings of individuals from the RDD sample (n=950); and (4) a national RDD sample of twin pairs (n=1,914).

All eligible participants were non-institutionalized, English-speaking adults in the coterminous United States, aged 25 to 74. Data from the above samples were collected primarily in 1995/96.

Last update – 03/02/2017

The NIMROD (Neuroimaging of Inflammation in Memory and Other Disorders) study aims to understand the role of inflammation in several forms of dementia, memory loss and depression (Alzheimer’s disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Parkinsons disease dementia (PDD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), late life depression (LLD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI)). It also aims to understand the changes in the immune system, from immune cells and other components in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid.

To achieve this, NIMROD looks at brain changes in dementia, depression and related disorders in several different ways, detecting differences in brain structure and function, measuring inflammation and annual psychology and memory assessments. A further aim is to investigate if neuroinflammation can predict subsequent clinical course, including cognitive and functional decline.

Last update – 01/02/2017

The Three-City Study (3C Study) is a population-based longitudinal study of the relation between vascular diseases and dementia in persons aged 65 years and older. A total of 9,294 participants (3,649 men and 5,645 women) were recruited from three French cities: Bordeaux (2,104), Dijon (4,931) and Montpellier (2,259).

The principal objective is to estimate the risk of dementia (Alzheimer’s disease and other types) that may be attributed to vascular factors.

In follow up 1 and 2 (2001-2004) participants were interviewed and subjected to physical and cognitive testing. In follow up 3 (2005-2012) participants completed a postal questionnaire. The third, fourth, and fith waves of follow-up examinations started in 2006 and finished in 2012. A sixth follow-up is ongoing.

Last update – 03/02/2017

The HCS is a population-based cohort study established to assess factors important in the health, well-being, social functioning and economic consequences of ageing. The participants included community-dwelling men and women aged 55-85 years of age who reside in Newcastle, New South Wales (NSW), Australia. They were randomly selected from the NSW State electoral roll and contacted between December 2004 and December 2007.

The participants’ study data was collected through self-report postal questionnaires which covered a wide range of variables but also linked with local and national health information databases and hospital records. These provided follow-up on use of prescription medication, health service utilization and hospitalizations, morbidity and mortality. There was also a baseline clinic visit which measured a wide variety of parameters including hearing, vision, smell, balance, cognition, and lung function. Medications and diagnoses have been collected not only at baseline but also at periodic intervals during follow-up.

Last update – 31/01/2017