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The Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) study of aging: methodology and baseline characteristics of 1112 individuals recruited for a longitudinal study of Alzheimer's disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2009

Kathryn A Ellis ,
Ashley I Bush ,
David Darby ,
Daniela De Fazio ,
Jonathan Foster ,
Peter Hudson ,
Nicola T. Lautenschlager ,
Nat Lenzo ,
Ralph N. Martins  and
Paul Maruff
...Show all authors
Kathryn A Ellis*
Affiliation:
Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, St. Vincent's Aged Psychiatry Service, St George's Hospital, VictoriaAustralia Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia National Ageing Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Ashley I Bush
Affiliation:
Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia Department of Pathology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
David Darby
Affiliation:
CogState Ltd, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Centre for Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
Daniela De Fazio
Affiliation:
Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Jonathan Foster
Affiliation:
Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease Research & Care, School of Exercise Biomedical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia Sir James McCusker Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit (Hollywood Private Hospital), Perth, Western Australia, Australia Neurosciences Unit, Health Department of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Peter Hudson
Affiliation:
CSIRO, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Nicola T. Lautenschlager
Affiliation:
Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, St. Vincent's Aged Psychiatry Service, St George's Hospital, VictoriaAustralia School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences and WA Centre for Health and Ageing, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Nat Lenzo
Affiliation:
Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease Research & Care, School of Exercise Biomedical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia Sir James McCusker Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit (Hollywood Private Hospital), Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Ralph N. Martins
Affiliation:
Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease Research & Care, School of Exercise Biomedical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia Sir James McCusker Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit (Hollywood Private Hospital), Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Paul Maruff
Affiliation:
CogState Ltd, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Centre for Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
Colin Masters
Affiliation:
Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia Centre for Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
Andrew Milner
Affiliation:
Neurosciences Australia, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Kerryn Pike
Affiliation:
Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
Christopher Rowe
Affiliation:
Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
Greg Savage
Affiliation:
Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, NSW, Australia
Cassandra Szoeke
Affiliation:
CSIRO, Parkville, Victoria, Australia National Ageing Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Kevin Taddei
Affiliation:
Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease Research & Care, School of Exercise Biomedical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia Sir James McCusker Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit (Hollywood Private Hospital), Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Victor Villemagne
Affiliation:
Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
Michael Woodward
Affiliation:
Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
David Ames
Affiliation:
Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, St. Vincent's Aged Psychiatry Service, St George's Hospital, VictoriaAustralia National Ageing Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Kathryn A. Ellis, Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, St. Vincent's Aged Psychiatry Service, St George's Hospital Campus, 283 Cotham Rd, Kew, Victoria 3101, Australia. Phone: +61 3 9389 2919; Fax +61 3 9816 0477. Email: kellis@unimelb.edu.au.
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Abstract

Background: The Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) flagship study of aging aimed to recruit 1000 individuals aged over 60 to assist with prospective research into Alzheimer's disease (AD). This paper describes the recruitment of the cohort and gives information about the study methodology, baseline demography, diagnoses, medical comorbidities, medication use, and cognitive function of the participants.

Methods: Volunteers underwent a screening interview, had comprehensive cognitive testing, gave 80 ml of blood, and completed health and lifestyle questionnaires. One quarter of the sample also underwent amyloid PET brain imaging with Pittsburgh compound B (PiB PET) and MRI brain imaging, and a subgroup of 10% had ActiGraph activity monitoring and body composition scanning.

Results: A total of 1166 volunteers were recruited, 54 of whom were excluded from further study due to comorbid disorders which could affect cognition or because of withdrawal of consent. Participants with AD (211) had neuropsychological profiles which were consistent with AD, and were more impaired than participants with mild cognitive impairment (133) or healthy controls (768), who performed within expected norms for age on neuropsychological testing. PiB PET scans were performed on 287 participants, 100 had DEXA scans and 91 participated in ActiGraph monitoring.

Conclusion: The participants comprising the AIBL cohort represent a group of highly motivated and well-characterized individuals who represent a unique resource for the study of AD. They will be reassessed at 18-month intervals in order to determine the predictive utility of various biomarkers, cognitive parameters and lifestyle factors as indicators of AD, and as predictors of future cognitive decline.

Keywords

Alzheimer's diseasemild cognitive impairmenthealthy controlscohort studylongitudinal studyPiB PET imaging
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 21 , Issue 4 , August 2009 , pp. 672 - 687
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2009

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