Overview of the VLS: Longitudinal and Epidemiological Research on Aging

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Overview of the VLSLongitudinal and
Epidemiological Research on Aging

• Roger A. Dixon Stuart W.S. MacDonald
• Principal Investigator

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Acknowledgements

• Funded in part by Grant R13AG030995-01A1 from the
  National Institute on Aging
• The views expressed in written conference
  materials or publications and by speakers and
  moderators do not necessarily reflect the
  official policies of the Department of Health and
  Human Services nor does mention by trade names,
  commercial practices, or organizations imply
  endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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VLS Support and Funding
Recent Funding NIH R37 AG008235-20 (PI
Dixon) AHS-FOMD (PIs Westaway, Dixon,
Jhamandas) NIH R03 AG024082 (PI Small) Canada
Research Chairs (PI Dixon) STINT (Sweden PIs
Nilsson, Dixon
ACNAlberta Cognitive Neuroscience
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Acknowledging VLS Collaborators

• VLS Co-founders/Executive
• PI Roger A. Dixon (University of Alberta)
• Christopher Hertzog (Georgia Tech)
• David Hultsch (University of Victoria)
• Stuart MacDonald (University of Victoria)
• VLS Co-investigators and Consultants
• Lars Bäckman (Karolinska Institute)
• Richard Camicioli (University of Alberta)
• Cindy de Frias (University of Texas)
• Jack McArdle (Univ. of Southern California)
• Lars-Göran Nilsson (Stockholm University)
• Brent Small (University of South Florida)
• Esther Strauss (University of Victoria)
• Åke Wahlin (Stockholm University)

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Toward Capturing Elements of the Dynamics of
Human Aging

• Large-Scale Longitudinal Studies (LSLS)
• Examples of existing LSLS, all of which have
  some of the necessary features
• Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing
• Berlin Aging Study (BASE)
• Betula Project (Umeå)
• Seattle Longitudinal Study
• Victoria Longitudinal Study

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Large-Scale Longitudinal StudiesContributions
to Memory Aging

• LSLS Research Designs May Include Indicators of
• Time Change in Levels and Variability of
  Performance
• Observation Gains, Losses, Maintenance
• Interpretation Level, Resilience, Adaptation,
  Compensation, Leading-Lagging
• Inputs From Bio, Psycho, Social, Environmental
  Levels
• Output Multiple Indicators of Cognitive
  Health/Disease
• Crossing Interactions Within/Across Levels Over
  Time
• Risk Factors Precursors to Loss
• Protection Factors Promoting Maintenance or
  Managed Loss
• Existing LSLS share logic, methods, and purview

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A VLS PlatformTracking Normal, Clinical, Healthy
Transitions in Human Aging

• Brief Background
• VLS Overall Research Headquarters University of
  Alberta
• VLS Satellite Research Lab University of
  Victoria
• Begun in the late 1980s (and continuing gt 20
  years)
• Continuous Funding from U.S. National Institutes
  of Health
• Brief (Original) Rationale
• Recruit successive cohorts of healthy adults
  (ages 55-85 years) and follow them longitudinally
  as they develop various aging-related conditions,
  including neurodegenerative diseases.
• Conduct research on patterns, profiles, and
  precursors of
• Healthy/Successful Aging, Normal Aging, Mild
  Cognitive Impairment, Dementia
• Other emergent biological/health conditions
• Recent BioAge, CVD, CerebroVD, T2D, Health
  Burden, Obesity, Genetic/Epigenetic Markers

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VLS Research Design

• Design Longitudinal Sequential
• Three Main Cohorts (Samples)
• Initiated in VLS S1 1980s VLS S2 1990s VLS
  S3 2000s
• Detail Cohorts initially 55-85 years old and
  healthy
• Detail Initial n per cohort 500-600
• Plus control groups
• VLS N gt 2000
• Detail 3/4-year intervals between waves
• Detail 12-14 hours of testing and data per wave

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VLS Research BlueprintMain Longitudinal Samples

• VLS Sample 1 Wave 7 (18 years) completed, now
  aged 73-103 years
• VLS Sample 2 Wave 5 (12 years) completed, now
  aged 67-97 years
• VLS Sample 3 Wave 3 (6 years) underway, now aged
  61-91 years

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The VLS Sequential Longitudinal Design
VLS Sample 1 (b. 1902-1932)
VLS Sample 2 (b. 1909-1939)
VLS Sample 3 (b. 1916-1946)
1980s
1990s
2010s
2000s
Historical Time
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Microscope on One Longitudinal Sample of the VLS
Design
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Sketch of VLS ProtocolHighlights of VLS
BatteryFour Clusters of Indicators

• 1. Cognitive and Neurocognitive Performance and
  Status
• Memory (Episodic, Semantic, Working)
• Neurocognitive Speed and Inconsistency (Semantic,
  Perceptual, Reaction Time)
• Memory Compensation and Metacognition
• Neuropsychological Status (Executive Functions
  inhibition, updating, shifting)
• General Cognition and Reasoning
• 2. Health and Medications
• Comprehensive Health Inventory (Conditions, Risk
  Factors, Frailty)
• Medications
• Functional, Instrumental, and Subjective Health
• 3. Biomarkers, Fitness, Genetics, and BioAge
• Physiological (e.g., BMI, Pulmonary, Balance,
  Gait, Grip Strength)
• Sensory (Audition, Vision, Smell)
• Saliva (Genetic, Epigenetic)
• 4. Background, Life History, Affect, Activities,
  and Experience
• Demographic, Personal Background, Family History
  
• Life Experience and Lifestyle Activities
  (Physical, Social, Cognitive)
• Affect and Psychosocial (Personality, Depression,
  Well-being)

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Sketch of VLS ProtocolHighlights of VLS
BatteryThemes

• (1) Cognitive and Neurocognitive Performance and
  Status
• (2) Health and Medications
• (3) Biomarkers, Fitness, Genetics, and BioAge
• (4) Background, Life History, Affect, Activities,
  and Experience

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Sketch of VLS Protocol Constructs and Associated
Indicators

• 1. Cognitive and Neurocognitive Performance and
  Status
• Memory
• Episodic (story recall, word list recall 2)
• Semantic (fact recall, vocabulary)
• Working (sentence construction, listening span,
  computation span)
• Neurocognitive Speed and Inconsistency
• Semantic (semantic verification task, lexical
  decision task)
• Perceptual (identical pictures, number
  comparison, digit symbol)
• Reaction Time (simple RT, 2-4-8 choice RT)
• Memory Compensation and Metacognition
• Executive Functions
• Inhibition (Stroop), Updating (various WM tasks),
  Shifting (Color Trails)
• General Cognition (MMSE)
• Reasoning

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Sketch of VLS Protocol Constructs and Associated
Indicators

• 2. Health and Medications
• Comprehensive Health Inventory
• Conditions, Risk Factors, Frailty
• Medications
• Self-report
• Linkage consent
• Functional, Instrumental, and Subjective Health
• Health relative to others and perfect
• ADLs and IADLs
• Change in daily activity patterns

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Sketch of VLS Protocol Constructs and Associated
Indicators

• 3. Biomarkers, Fitness, Genetics, and BioAge
• Physiological Function
• Anthropometric (height, weight, BMI, head
  circumference)
• Pulmonary (peak expiratory flow)
• Balance and Gait (timed walk, turn 360)
• Muscle strength (grip test)
• Sensory Function
• Audition
• Vision
• Smell
• Genetics and Epigenetics

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Sketch of VLS Protocol Constructs and Associated
Indicators

• 4. Background, Life History, Affect, Activities,
  and Experience
• Demographic, Personal Background, Family History
• Personal Data Sheet (PDS)
• Affect and Psychosocial
• Personality (NEO)
• Depression (CES-D)
• Well-being (Bradburn affect balance scale)
• Life Experience and Lifestyle Activities
  (Physical, Social, Cognitive)
• Activity Lifestyle Questionnaire (VLS-ALQ)

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Activity Lifestyle Questionnaire

• VLS-ALQ consists of 64 items and six subscales
  representing 3 domains of everyday cognition,
  physical activity, and social activity
• The six activity subscales are identified as
  follows
• Physical activity (e.g., jogging, walking) 4
  items
• Self-maintenance (e.g., preparing a meal,
  shopping) 6 items
• Social activity (e.g., attending concerts,
  visiting friends) 7 items
• Hobbies/Home Maintenance (e.g., using the
  computer, playing an instrument) 12 items
• Passive Information Processing (e.g., reading the
  paper, watching a documentary) 8 items
• Novel Information Processing (e.g., completing
  income tax forms, playing bridge) 27 items

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Activity Lifestyle Questionnaire

• Items measured on a 9-point scale

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VLS Contributions to the Activity-Cognition
Hypothesis

• Hultsch et al (1999)
• Examined hypothesis that maintaining intellectual
  engagement through participation in everyday
  activities buffers against cognitive decline
• N 250 participants tested 3 times over 6 years
• Used SEM/latent change approach to examine
  associations between changes in lifestyle
  variables and cognitive functioning

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VLS Contributions to the Activity-Cognition
Hypothesis

• Changes in intellectually-engaging activities
  (Novel CH) were systematically linked to
  cognitive change
• Findings imply that
• remaining cognitively active buffers against
  decline
• OR
• that high-ability individuals lead
  intellectually-active lives until cognitive
  declines limit their participation

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VLS Contributions to Activity-Cognition
Hypothesis

• Bielak (2009)
• Summarized key unanswered questions in the use
  it or lose it literature
• How does activity engagement impact cognition,
  and which domains benefit most
• Optimal methods for assessing activity engagement
• Directionality of cognition-activity association

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VLS Contributions to the Activity-Cognition
Hypothesis

• Small et al (2010) -- Changes in Lifestyle
  Activities as Moderators of Age-Related Declines
  in Cognitive Abilities
• examined whether multivariate changes in
  physical, social, or cognitive lifestyle
  activities were related to cognitive change
• N 952 participants tested up to 5 times
  spanning 12 years
• Psychological Science (under review)

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VLS Contributions to the Activity-Cognition
Hypothesis

• Applied latent change score models to examine
  associations between change in activities and
  cognition
• limitations in cognitive lifestyle activities
  were linked to subsequent declines in processing
  speed, episodic memory, and semantic memory
• results also indicated that poorer cognitive
  functioning was linked to subsequent decrements
  in activity participation (particularly social
  activities)

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www.ualberta.ca/vlslab
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Recent VLS Trainees (HQPs)

• PDFs, RAs, and Graduate Students
• Debbie Ball Bonnie Geall
• Allison Bielak Jacob Grand
• Anna Braslavsky Tiffany Hughes
• Correne DeCarlo Jackie Lane
• Ashley Demsky Laura Mansueti
• Cindy de Frias Peggy McFall
• Sanda Dolcos Terry Perkins
• Sarah Feltmate Sarah Tippe
• Ashley Fischer Ruoxi Wang
• Jill Friesen Dianne Wolcott
• Lisa Gagnon Sophie Yeung
• Doug Garrett Teddy Cosco