ISLAND Campus: a fee-free formal university educational intervention in mid- to later-life to reduce modifiable risk factors for dementia and improve cognition

Previous research has tended to focus on early-life education for dementia risk reduction, yet there are great gains for building cognitive reserve in mid- to later-life through educational interventions. ISLAND (Island Study Linking Ageing and Neurodegenerative Disease) Campus offered free universi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in aging neuroscience 2024, Vol.16, p.1479926
Main Authors: Roccati, Eddy, Kitsos, Alex, Bindoff, Aidan David, Alty, Jane Elizabeth, Bartlett, Larissa, Collins, Jessica Marie, King, Anna Elizabeth, Fair, Hannah, Doherty, Kathleen, Vickers, James Clement
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging Neuroscience
biomarkers
cognition
education
intervention
longitudinal
modifiable risk factors
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Summary:Previous research has tended to focus on early-life education for dementia risk reduction, yet there are great gains for building cognitive reserve in mid- to later-life through educational interventions. ISLAND (Island Study Linking Ageing and Neurodegenerative Disease) Campus offered free university study to all ISLAND participants, with flexible in-person/online learning models to remove educational, socioeconomic and geographical barriers. Here the core hypothesis of ISLAND Campus was investigated: that engagement in later life education leads to improvements in modifiable risk factors for dementia, cognition and blood-based biomarkers. ISLAND Campus participants were matched on age and gender to non-Campus participants via propensity score method, with optimal matching based on logistic regression. Participants completed online surveys on health, demographics, modifiable dementia risk factors via a customized Dementia Risk Profile (DRP) tool and provided blood samples for APOE genotyping and plasma phosphorylated-tau (p-tau). Cognition was measured online via the validated Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery Paired Associates Learning (PAL) and Spatial Working Memory (SWM) tasks. Impact of the opt-in formal educational intervention was tested in R via ANCOVA. Total participants were 986 (interventio = 492, control = 492), mean age of 61.2 years, 73.2% female, 11.7 mean years of education and 25.0% APOE e4+. Over 4 years of follow-up, intervention participants significantly improved working memory (SWM) and their risk factor profiles as measured via the DRP (  
ISSN:1663-4365
1663-4365
DOI:10.3389/fnagi.2024.1479926