ELSA-HCAP 2 - a dementia follow-up study

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing - a dementia follow-up study (ELSA-HCAP 2)

  • IRAS ID

    316843

  • Contact name

    Andrew Steptoe

  • Contact email

    a.steptoe@ucl.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University College London

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 8 months, 31 days

  • Research summary

    Dementia is a major public health problem with tragic consequences for the individuals and their families. The Healthy Cognitive Ageing Project (HCAP) is a sub-study of ELSA, designed to assess dementia and cognitive impairment using a harmonised protocol administered by the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in the USA.

    The first wave of ELSA-HCAP was conducted in 2018 with 1,273 participants aged 65 and older, taking part in a detailed assessment of cognitive function and other factors related to dementia. This project is the second wave of ELSA-HCAP (ELSA-HCAP 2) and is a repeat of participant and informant data collection from the HCAP cohort after a 5-year interval. This project will allow opportunities to track changes in cognitive function to identify the early stages of cognitive decline that may lead to dementia and to assess the incidence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia among participants at different levels of cognitive function at baseline. In this study, we will attempt to enhance the number of individuals from minoritized ethnic communities, who are currently under-researched. In addition, we will attempt to capture cognitive impairment at the end of life, as well as gain insight on the circumstances of individuals including time spent feeling content or at peace towards the end of life.

    The data collection for ELSA-HCAP 2 will be carried out by NatCen Social Research.

  • REC name

    South Central - Berkshire Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    22/SC/0325

  • Date of REC Opinion

    12 Oct 2022

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion