Dementia prevention, intervention and early diagnosis

Through leveraging extensive longitudinal data and biospecimens already obtained from a large representative cohort of older Australians, this research will enable better characterisation of the epidemiology of dementia in Australia. ASPREE was a randomised placebo-controlled trial to determine the role of aspirin in the primary prevention of dementia and disability-free survival. 16,703 initially healthy Australians aged 70+ years were screened for cognitive impairment at study entry and followed for a mean of 5 years with regular comprehensive cognitive assessment. At the end of the study, participants continued to be followed as part of the observational ASPREE-XT study. The wealth of information available on such a large cohort offers an unprecedented opportunity to generate new knowledge about dementia, cognitive ageing and resilience. This project is part of a large program of research. Students will have the opportunity to undertake sophisticated longitudinal data analysis, and/or qualitative research working with Dementia Australia.