The Betula Project - Aging, memory and dementia

The Betula Project is a longitudinal study of aging, memory and dementia. Data was collected through six waves between 1988–2014: 1988-1990 (test wave 1); 1993-1995 (test wave 2); 1998-2000 (test wave 3); 2003-2005 (test wave 4); 2008-2010 (test wave 5); 2013-2014 (test wave 6). For each test wave participants completed a thorough physical examination with blood tests of a nurse and a careful examination of a memory tester. There are data collected from approximately 4,700 participants. On each occasion, data for about 2000 variables were collected for each participant, which includes data on demographics, health, illness, medication, social and cognitive factors. The Betula project has received funding for research infrastructures (large databases) from the Swedish Research Council. This means a major effort to make the Betula database available to researchers outside the project through collaborations with researchers within the Betula project. To the Betulas database, genetic data and biological samples are also connected. Purpose: Study how memory functions change during adult life, to identify risk factors for dementia and to identify early preclinical signs of dementia and determine the critical factors of successful aging.桦树计划（The Betula Project）是一项针对衰老、记忆与痴呆的纵向研究。该项目于1988至2014年间开展六轮数据采集：1988-1990年（第一轮测试波）、1993-1995年（第二轮测试波）、1998-2000年（第三轮测试波）、2003-2005年（第四轮测试波）、2008-2010年（第五轮测试波）以及2013-2014年（第六轮测试波）。 每一轮测试中，受试者均接受由护士执行的全面体格检查与血液检测，以及记忆测评师开展的精细认知检查。本项目累计招募约4700名受试者，每轮测试为每位受试者采集约2000项变量数据，涵盖人口统计学特征、健康状况、疾病史、用药情况、社会因素与认知功能等多个维度。 桦树计划的研究基础设施（大型数据库）已获得瑞典研究理事会（Swedish Research Council）的资助，其核心目标之一是通过与项目内部研究者的协作，将桦树数据库（Betula database）向项目外的科研人员开放。此外，该数据库还关联了遗传数据与生物样本。 研究目的：探究成年期记忆功能的变化规律，识别痴呆的风险因素与早期临床前征兆，并明确成功衰老的关键影响因素。