The 90+ Study was initiated January 1, 2003 as a population-based sample of oldest-old survivors of the Leisure World Cohort Study (LWCS, enrollment 1981-1984). With more than 1,800 participants, The 90+ Study is one of the largest and longest studies in the world of dementia, cognitive decline, disability, and frailty in the oldest-old. People over 90 are the fastest segment of the population and have the greatest public health impact as the risk of dementia is extraordinarily high in these individuals, reaching a staggering 40% per year in centenarians. However, many oldest old maintain superior cognitive performance well into their tenth decade and beyond (cognitive resilience), often in the presence of neuropathological changes (cognitive resilience in the presence of pathology). Lifestyle, co-morbid conditions, genetics, and other factors have been implicated in this cognitive resilience, but have not been well studied. In this application, we extend our studies to investigate cognitive resilience in these remarkable individuals.
In Aim 1, we consider early (30 years earlier in the LWCS) and late (at age 90+) lifestyle and other factors in relation to cognitive resilience. Factors related to the maintenance of superior cognitive abilities in the presence of pathology are investigated in Aim 2. Taking advantage of our large cohort of 90+ year-olds in our imaging studies, we prospectively follow individuals without dementia to estimate incidence of dementia and rates of cognitive decline in relation to MRI and PET biomarkers in Aim 3. We analyze the role of low levels of multiple neuropathologic changes in the expression of dementia in Aim 4. Finally, with this application, we will recruit the last living LWCS participants eligible for our study, and complete ascertainment of all previously established outcomes in The 90+ Study (dementia, CIND, MCI, frailty, disability, and mortality). We will make this dataset spanning almost four decades publically available to the research community (Aim5). With our extensive database, unique large cohort of well-characterized individuals, extensive and multidisciplinary longitudinal follow-up, and innovative neuropathological and neuroimaging investigations, we are ideally positioned to do studies of dementia and resilience in the oldest-old. Identifying factors related to cognitive resilience and dementia, including modifiable lifestyle factors and imaging biomarkers, would contribute to our understanding of aging in health and disease and provide potential targets for interventions to promote successful aging.

Public Health Relevance

People aged 90 and older (the oldest-old) are the fastest growing segment of the population and have the highest rates of dementia. Many oldest-old individuals, however, maintain superior cognitive performance (cognitive resilience) often despite the presence of Alzheimer disease (AD) and other neuropathologic changes. With clinical, imaging and pathological investigations, our goal is to identify lifestyle and other factors that contribute to resilience in this understudied and unique segment of the population.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AG021055-18
Application #
9934959
Study Section
Neurological, Aging and Musculoskeletal Epidemiology (NAME)
Program Officer
Anderson, Dallas
Project Start
2002-09-15
Project End
2023-05-31
Budget Start
2020-07-01
Budget End
2021-05-31
Support Year
18
Fiscal Year
2020
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Irvine
Department
Neurology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
046705849
City
Irvine
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92617
Paganini-Hill, Annlia; Kawas, Claudia H; Corrada, María M (2018) Positive Mental Attitude Associated with Lower 35-Year Mortality: The Leisure World Cohort Study. J Aging Res 2018:2126368
Sabeti, Sara; Al-Darsani, Zeinah; Mander, Bryce Anthony et al. (2018) Sleep, hippocampal volume, and cognition in adults over 90 years old. Aging Clin Exp Res 30:1307-1318
Melikyan, Zarui A; Greenia, Dana E; Corrada, Maria M et al. (2018) Recruiting the Oldest-old for Clinical Research. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord :
Trieu, Thomas; Sajjadi, Seyed Ahmad; Kawas, Claudia H et al. (2018) Risk factors of hippocampal sclerosis in the oldest old: The 90+ Study. Neurology 91:e1788-e1798
Bennett, Ilana J; Greenia, Dana E; Maillard, Pauline et al. (2017) Age-related white matter integrity differences in oldest-old without dementia. Neurobiol Aging 56:108-114
Paganini-Hill, Annlia; Greenia, Dana E; Perry, Shawna et al. (2017) Lower likelihood of falling at age 90+ is associated with daily exercise a quarter of a century earlier: The 90+ Study. Age Ageing 46:951-957
Corrada, María M; Hayden, Kathleen M; Paganini-Hill, Annlia et al. (2017) Age of onset of hypertension and risk of dementia in the oldest-old: The 90+ Study. Alzheimers Dement 13:103-110
Nolen, Shantell C; Evans, Marcella A; Fischer, Avital et al. (2017) Cancer-Incidence, prevalence and mortality in the oldest-old. A comprehensive review. Mech Ageing Dev 164:113-126
Pierce, Aimee L; Bullain, Szofia S; Kawas, Claudia H (2017) Late-Onset Alzheimer Disease. Neurol Clin 35:283-293
Brodaty, Henry; Woolf, Claudia; Andersen, Stacy et al. (2016) ICC-dementia (International Centenarian Consortium - dementia): an international consortium to determine the prevalence and incidence of dementia in centenarians across diverse ethnoracial and sociocultural groups. BMC Neurol 16:52

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