Westlake Aging Cohort (WeAC)

Westlake Aging Cohort

The Westlake Ageing Cohort (WeAC) is a longitudinal cohort study conducted in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. The investigators aim to enroll 2,800 participants aged 55 years and older for long-term follow-up. The population will include individuals with neurodegenerative diseases or those at the prodromal stage of cognitive impairment, as well as healthy middle-aged and older adults serving as controls. The investigators will collect their sociodemographic, dietary, lifestyle, clinical, and neuroimaging data, as well as biological samples.

The investigators will recruit middle-aged and aged participants, including healthy controls and individuals with neurodegenerative disorders such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), etc. The aim of this study is to construct a longitudinal database that includes sociodemographic, lifestyle, clinical, neuroimaging, and multi-omics data. This database will be used to characterize the molecular signatures of neurodegenerative disorders. In addition, the investigators will identify biomarkers associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Furthermore, the investigators aim to uncover the mechanisms underlying the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age between 55 and 90 years (inclusive) at baseline.
2. Availability of a companion capable of providing independent functional assessments and fluent in Chinese.
3. Willingness and ability to regularly complete required surveys and physical examinations as per study protocol.
4. MMSE scores were required to be 24-30 (inclusive) for healthy controls and MCI; and 20-24 (inclusive) for AD and DLB/PDD patients.
5. Healthy controls: CDR = 0, memory box = 0. MCI: CDR = 0.5, memory box ≥ 0.5. AD: CDR = 0.5 or 1. The DLB/PDD meets the core features of diagnosis.
6. Healthy controls exhibit no significant cognitive or functional decline. Patients with MCI have objective cognitive impairment not sufficient for an AD diagnosis. AD patients fulfill the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. DLB/PDD patients meet their respective international consensus diagnostic criteria. Other neurodegenerative diseases meet the diagnostic criteria.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Participants with major medical or neuropsychiatric conditions unrelated to the study purposes were excluded. These included, but were not limited to, psychiatric disorders, cancer, infectious diseases, structural brain abnormalities, and epilepsy.
2. Current use of psychoactive medications or any other drugs that may affect the study.
3. Participants with cardiac pacemakers, artificial heart valves, or metallic implants in the eyes, skin, or any other part of the body.
4. Participants with any other diseases that may affect the study.