Cognitive trajectories and incident atrial fibrillation in the ASPREE cohort.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with aging and increased risk of stroke and dementia. We examined the association between incident AF and cognitive trajectories in older adults using longitudinal data from the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) study.

Methods: ASPREE was a multi-center randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of low-dose (100 mg) aspirin in healthy older adults.

Genomic risk prediction for type 2 diabetes in Australian individuals aged 70 years and older.

Aims: The utility of a polygenic score (PGS) for type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been demonstrated in the general adult population. However, while previous studies have included older adults within broader age ranges, the performance of PGS specifically in older individuals aged ≥70 years remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the predictive utility of a PGS in an older cohort.

Association of plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level with risk of incident dementia: a cohort study of healthy older adults.

Background: Recent studies have reported associations between high plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and risk of all-cause mortality, age-related macular degeneration, sepsis and fractures, but associations with dementia risk remain unclear. To determine whether high plasma HDL-C levels are associated with increased incident dementia risk in initially-healthy older people.

Methods: We conducted a post-hoc analysis of the Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial; a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of daily low-dose aspirin in healthy older people.

Association of a healthy lifestyle with mortality in older people.

Background: Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours such as smoking, high alcohol consumption, poor diet or low physical activity are associated with morbidity and mortality. Public health guidelines provide recommendations for adherence to these four factors, however, their relationship to the health of older people is less certain.

Methods: The study involved 11,340 Australian participants (median age 7.

The impacts of social restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic on the physical activity levels of over 50-year olds: The CHARIOT COVID-19 Rapid Response (CCRR) cohort study.

Objectives: To quantify the associations between shielding status and loneliness at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and physical activity (PA) levels throughout the pandemic.

Methods: Demographic, health and lifestyle characteristics of 7748 cognitively healthy adults aged >50, and living in London, were surveyed from April 2020 to March 2021. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) short-form assessed PA before COVID-19 restrictions, and up to 6 times over 11 months.

Validation of newly derived polygenic risk scores for dementia in a prospective study of older individuals.

Introduction: Recent genome-wide association studies identified new dementia-associated variants. We assessed the performance of updated polygenic risk scores (PRSs) using these variants in an independent cohort.

Methods: We used Cox models and area under the curve (AUC) to validate new PRSs (PRS-83SNP, PRS-SBayesR, and PRS-CS) compared with an older PRS-23SNP in 12,031 initially-healthy participants ≥70 years of age.

Longitudinal association between handgrip strength, gait speed and risk of serious falls in a community-dwelling older population.

Objective: Both grip strength and gait speed can be used as markers of muscle function, however, no previous study has examined them in the same population with respect to risk of falls.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, utilising data from the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial and ASPREE-Fracture substudy, we analysed the association of grip strength and gait speed and serious falls in healthy older adults. Grip strength was measured using a handheld dynamometer and gait speed from 3-metre timed walks.

Association of a Healthy Lifestyle with Mortality in Older People.

Background: Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours such as smoking, high alcohol consumption, poor diet or low physical activity are associated with morbidity and premature mortality. Public health guidelines provide recommendations for adherence to these four factors, however, their impact on the health of older people is less certain.

Methods: The study involved 11,340 Australian participants (median age 7.

Practice Effect of Repeated Cognitive Tests Among Older Adults: Associations With Brain Amyloid Pathology and Other Influencing Factors.

Background: Practice effects (PE), after repeated cognitive measurements, may mask cognitive decline and represent a challenge in clinical and research settings. However, an attenuated practice effect may indicate the presence of brain pathologies. This study aimed to evaluate practice effects on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) scale, and their associations with brain amyloid status and other factors in a cohort of cognitively unimpaired older adults enrolled in the CHARIOT-PRO SubStudy.

Health, Lifestyle, and Psycho-Social Determinants of Poor Sleep Quality During the Early Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Focus on UK Older Adults Deemed Clinically Extremely Vulnerable.

Several studies have assessed the impact of COVID-19-related lockdowns on sleep quality across global populations. However, no study to date has specifically assessed populations, particularly those at highest risk of complications from coronavirus infection deemed "clinically-extremely-vulnerable-(COVID-19CEV)" (as defined by Public Health England). In this cross-sectional study, we surveyed 5,558 adults aged ≥50 years (of whom 523 met criteria for COVID-19CEV) during the first pandemic wave that resulted in a nationwide-lockdown (April-June 2020) with assessments of sleep quality (an adapted sleep scale that captured multiple sleep indices before and during the lockdown), health/medical, lifestyle, psychosocial and socio-demographic factors.

Protocol of the Cognitive Health in Ageing Register: Investigational, Observational and Trial Studies in Dementia Research (CHARIOT): Prospective Readiness cOhort (PRO) SubStudy.

Introduction: The Cognitive Health in Ageing Register: Investigational, Observational and Trial Studies in Dementia Research (CHARIOT): Prospective Readiness cOhort (PRO) SubStudy (CPSS), sponsored by Janssen Pharmaceutical Research & Development LLC, is an Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarker enriched observational study that began 3 July 2015 CPSS aims to identify and validate determinants of AD, alongside cognitive, functional and biological changes in older adults with or without detectable evidence of AD pathology at baseline.

Methods And Analysis: CPSS is a dual-site longitudinal cohort (3.5 years) assessed quarterly.

Associations of Social Isolation with Anxiety and Depression During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of Older Adults in London, UK.

The COVID-19 pandemic is imposing a profound negative impact on the health and wellbeing of societies and individuals, worldwide. One concern is the effect of social isolation as a result of social distancing on the mental health of vulnerable populations, including older people. Within six weeks of lockdown, we initiated the CHARIOT COVID-19 Rapid Response Study, a bespoke survey of cognitively healthy older people living in London, to investigate the impact of COVID-19 and associated social isolation on mental and physical wellbeing.

Therapeutic implications of hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal-axis modulation in Alzheimer's disease: A narrative review of pharmacological and lifestyle interventions.

With disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease (AD) still elusive, the search for alternative intervention strategies has intensified. Growing evidence suggests that dysfunction in hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal-axis (HPAA) activity may contribute to the development of AD pathology. The HPAA, may therefore offer a novel target for therapeutic action.

Use of Online Dietary Recalls among Older UK Adults: A Feasibility Study of an Online Dietary Assessment Tool.

This study examined the feasibility of including myfood24, an online 24-hour dietary recall tool, in a cohort studies of older adults. Participants ( = 319) were recruited during follow-up visits for the CHARIOT-Pro Sub-study, a prospective study of cognitively healthy adults aged 60-85 years at baseline. Email invitations were sent over three consecutive months, with weekly reminders.

Biomarkers and Functional Decline in Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Little is known of possible associations between Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) change over time.

Objective: The present study seeks to identify relationships between baseline imaging and fluid biomarker profiles, and decline in IADL utilizing data collated from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort.

Methods: Generalized estimating equations analysis, adjusted for cognitive deterioration, was applied to a cohort of 509 individuals from all stages of ADNI, including 156 healthy controls, 189 early mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients and 164 MCI patients.

Development of the CHARIOT Research Register for the Prevention of Alzheimer's Dementia and Other Late Onset Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Background: Identifying cognitively healthy people at high risk of developing dementia is an ever-increasing focus. These individuals are essential for inclusion in observational studies into the natural history of the prodromal and early disease stages and for interventional studies aimed at prevention or disease modification. The success of this research is dependent on having access to a well characterised, representative and sufficiently large population of individuals.