ORCID Profile
0000-0002-7587-9051
Current Organisation
University of Tasmania
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-01-2023
DOI: 10.1007/S10903-022-01445-2
Abstract: While the prevalence of non-communicable disease risk factors is understood to be higher among migrants than for people born in host nations, little is known about the dementia risk profile of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. This systematic review examines published literature to understand what is currently reported about 12 identified modifiable risk factors for dementia among migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers residing in Australia. Three literature databases (PubMed/CINAHL/MEDLINE) were systematically searched to find articles reporting excessive alcohol consumption, traumatic brain injury, air pollution, lack of education, hypertension, hearing impairment, smoking, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes, and limited social contact in Australia’s migrant, refugee and asylum seeker population s les. Papers were systematically reviewed following PRISMA guidelines. A total of 763 studies were found, of which 676 articles were excluded, and 79 articles remained. Despite wide variability in study design, size and purpose, the prevalence and correlates of modifiable risk factors of dementia appears markedly different among the studied s les. Compared with Australian-born participants, migrant s les had a higher prevalence of depression, social isolation, physical inactivity and diabetes mellitus. Insufficient information or conflicting evidence prevented inference about prevalence and correlates for the remaining dementia risk factors. A better understanding of the prevalence and correlates of modifiable dementia risk factors is needed in Australia’s migrant, refugee and asylum seeker populations. This information, together with a deeper understanding of the contextual and cultural contributing factors affecting people who arrive in Australia through differing pathways is needed before preventive interventions can be realistically targeted and sensitively implemented.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 18-08-2020
Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc.
Date: 04-11-2021
Abstract: p to 40% of incident dementia is considered attributable to behavioral and lifestyle factors. Given the current lack of medical treatments and the projected increase in dementia prevalence, a focus on prevention through risk reduction is needed. e aim to increase dementia risk knowledge and promote changes in dementia risk behaviors at in idual and population levels. he Island Study Linking Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease (ISLAND) is a long-term prospective, web-based cohort study with nested interventions that will be conducted over a 10-year period. Target participants (n=10,000) reside in Tasmania and are aged 50 years or over. Survey data on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to modifiable dementia risk factors will be collected annually. After each survey wave, participants will be provided with a personalized dementia risk profile containing guidelines for reducing risk across 9 behavioral and lifestyle domains and with opportunities to engage in educational and behavioral interventions targeting risk reduction. Survey data will be modeled longitudinally with intervention engagement indices, cognitive function indices, and blood-based biomarkers, to measure change in risk over time. n the initial 12 months (October 2019 to October 2020), 6410 participants have provided baseline data. The study is ongoing. ecruitment targets are feasible and efforts are ongoing to achieve a representative s le. Findings will inform future public health dementia risk reduction initiatives by showing whether, when, and how dementia risk can be lowered through educational and behavioral interventions, delivered in an uncontrolled real-world context. ERR1-10.2196/34688
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2021
DOI: 10.1016/J.CORTEX.2021.09.018
Abstract: Previous research suggests oral and written language can act as barometers of an in idual's cognitive function, potentially providing a screening tool for the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other forms of dementia. Idea density is a measure of the rate at which ideas, or elementary predications, are expressed and may provide an ideal measure for early detection of deficits in language. Previous research has shown that when no restrictions are set on the topic of the idea, a decrease in propositional idea density (PID) is associated with an increased risk of developing AD. However, this has been limited by moderate s le sizes and manual transcribing. Technological advancement has enabled the automated calculation of PID from tools such as the Computerized Propositional Idea Density Rater (CPIDR). We delivered an online autobiographical writing task to older adult Australians from ISLAND (Island Study Linking Ageing and Neurodegenerative Disease). Linear regression models were fitted in R. We analysed text files (range 10-1180 words) using CPIDRv5 provided by 3316 (n = 853 males [25.7%], n = 2463 females [74.3%]) ISLAND participants. Over 358,957 words written in 3316 written autobiographical responses were analysed. Mean PID was higher in females (53.5 [±3.69]) than males (52.6 [±4.50]). Both advancing age and being male were significantly associated with a decrease in PID (p < .001). Automated methods of language analysis hold great promise for the early detection of subtle deficits in language capacity. Although our effect sizes were small, PID may be a sensitive measure of deficits in language in ageing in iduals and is able to be collected at scale using online methods of data capture.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ALZ.045539
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2021
DOI: 10.1093/AJCN/NQAA403
Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc.
Date: 03-2022
DOI: 10.2196/34688
Abstract: Up to 40% of incident dementia is considered attributable to behavioral and lifestyle factors. Given the current lack of medical treatments and the projected increase in dementia prevalence, a focus on prevention through risk reduction is needed. We aim to increase dementia risk knowledge and promote changes in dementia risk behaviors at in idual and population levels. The Island Study Linking Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease (ISLAND) is a long-term prospective, web-based cohort study with nested interventions that will be conducted over a 10-year period. Target participants (n=10,000) reside in Tasmania and are aged 50 years or over. Survey data on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to modifiable dementia risk factors will be collected annually. After each survey wave, participants will be provided with a personalized dementia risk profile containing guidelines for reducing risk across 9 behavioral and lifestyle domains and with opportunities to engage in educational and behavioral interventions targeting risk reduction. Survey data will be modeled longitudinally with intervention engagement indices, cognitive function indices, and blood-based biomarkers, to measure change in risk over time. In the initial 12 months (October 2019 to October 2020), 6410 participants have provided baseline data. The study is ongoing. Recruitment targets are feasible and efforts are ongoing to achieve a representative s le. Findings will inform future public health dementia risk reduction initiatives by showing whether, when, and how dementia risk can be lowered through educational and behavioral interventions, delivered in an uncontrolled real-world context. DERR1-10.2196/34688
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUROBIOLAGING.2018.12.008
Abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk increases with age and lacks efficacious pharmacological options. Summaries of the existing evidence reveal an association between Mediterranean-style diet adherence and reduced AD incidence however, no review has investigated this relationship with respect to the hallmark AD biomarkers (tau and beta-amyloid) that manifest decades before clinical symptomatology. MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and SCOPUS databases were systematically searched to identify peer-reviewed articles investigating diet and AD biomarkers in the last 2 decades. Two thousand seven hundred twenty-six records were extracted, quality assessed, and double-blind screened by 2 authors. Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria and 13 studies found a significant relationship. Of these, 4 studies found a high-glycemic load was related to an increase in AD biomarker burden 6 found adherence to a Mediterranean or "AD-protective" dietary pattern conferred a reduction in AD biomarker burden. Meta-analysis revealed a small but significant effect of diet on AD biomarkers (β = 0.11 [95% CI 0.04-0.17], p = 0.002). This systematic review supports the notion that diet and nutrition display potential for nonpharmacological AD prevention.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-07-2023
DOI: 10.1002/ALZ.13401
Abstract: Finding low‐cost methods to detect early‐stage Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a research priority for neuroprotective drug development. Presymptomatic Alzheimer's is associated with gait impairment but hand motor tests, which are more accessible, have hardly been investigated. This study evaluated how home‐based Tasmanian (TAS) Test keyboard tapping tests predict episodic memory performance. 1169 community participants (65.8 ± 7.4 years old 73% female) without cognitive symptoms completed online single‐key and alternate‐key tapping tests and episodic memory, working memory, and executive function cognitive tests. All single‐key ( R 2 adj = 8.8%, ΔAIC = 5.2) and alternate‐key ( R 2 adj = 9.1%, ΔAIC = 8.8) motor features predicted episodic memory performance relative to demographic and mood confounders only ( R 2 adj = 8.1%). No tapping features improved estimation of working memory. Brief self‐administered online hand movement tests predict asymptomatic episodic memory impairment. This provides a potential low‐cost home‐based method for stratification of enriched cohorts. We devised two brief online keyboard tapping tests to assess hand motor function. 1169 cognitively asymptomatic adults completed motor‐ and cognitive tests online. Impaired hand motor function predicted reduced episodic memory performance. This brief self‐administered test may aid stratification of community cohorts.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 02-08-2021
DOI: 10.3389/FNAGI.2021.725914
Abstract: Background : The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein has been shown to have a prominent role in neuron survival, growth, and function in experimental models, and the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism which regulates its expression has been linked to resilience toward the effects of aging on cognition. Cognitively stimulating activity is linked to both increased levels of BDNF in the brain, and protection against age-related cognitive decline. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between serum BDNF levels, the BDNF Val66Met genotype, and components of cognitive reserve in early and mid-life, measured with the Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire (LEQ). Methods : Serum BDNF levels were measured cross-sectionally in 156 participants from the Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project (THBP) cohort, a study examining the potential benefits of older adults engaging in a university-level education intervention. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate serum BDNF’s association with age, education, gender, BDNF Val66Met genotype, later-life university-level study, and cognitively stimulating activities measured by the LEQ. Results : Serum BDNF in older adults was associated with early life education and training, increasing 0.007 log(pg/ml) [95%CI 0.001, 0.012] per unit on the LEQ subscale. Conversely, education and training in mid-life were associated with a −0.007 log(pg/ml) [−0.012, −0.001] decrease per unit on the LEQ subscale. Serum BDNF decreased with age (−0.008 log(pg/ml) [−0.015, −0.001] per year), and male gender (−0.109 log(pg/ml) [−0.203, −0.015]), but mean differences between the BDNF Val66Met polymorphisms were not significant ( p = 0.066). All effect sizes were small, with mid-life education and training having the largest effect size ( η p 2 = 0.044). Conclusion : Education in both early and mid-life explained small but significant amounts of variance in serum BDNF levels, more than age or gender. These effects were opposed and independent, suggesting that education at different stages of life may be associated with different cognitive and neural demands. Education at different stages of life may be important covariates when estimating associations between other exposures and serum BDNF.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ALZ.045477
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1002/TRC2.12207
Abstract: Declining cognition in later life is associated with loss of independence and quality of life. This decline in cognition may potentially be reduced or reversed through engaging in cognitively stimulating activities. This study examined the potential for university attendance in later life to enhance cognitive function in older adults. Cognitively unimpaired adults (n = 485, 69% female, median age 60 years) were given the opportunity to undertake free university study. Repeated neurocognitive assessment was performed over 7 years. Participants in the university education group (n = 383) improved z = .02 SD (.01, .03) per year of the study compared to controls ( P = .001 averaged across a battery of cognitive tests). The largest improvements were observed on tests of language and verbal learning, memory, and episodic memory. Later‐life university study was associated with improved cognitive trajectories. Later‐life education may preserve cognitive function, specifically for functions associated with communication, social interaction, and maintaining independence.
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 11-2021
DOI: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.121.17608
Abstract: Little is known about whether the association of hypertension with brain volume and dementia is modified by an in idual’s age at their diagnosis of hypertension. Our analysis was based on the UK Biobank with baseline data collected between 2006 and 2010. Brain magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure brain volumes between 2014 and 2019. Dementia was ascertained using hospital inpatient, mortality, and self-reported data until 2021. We randomly selected a control participant for each hypertensive participant stratified by hypertension diagnosis age using propensity score. The cohort comprised 11 399 in iduals with hypertension and 11 399 controls for the brain volume analysis and 124 053 in iduals with hypertension and 124 053 controls for the dementia analysis. In iduals with hypertension diagnosed at ages (β (95% CI, −10.83 [−19.27 to −2.39] mL), 35 to 44 (−6.82 [−12.18 to −1.46] mL), and 45 to 54 years (−3.77 [−6.91 to −0.64] mL) had smaller total brain volume compared with the corresponding controls in the multivariable analysis. Similarly, hypertension diagnosed in early- and mid-life was independently associated with smaller volumes of gray matter, peripheral cortical gray matter, and white matter. Over a median follow-up of 11.9 years, 4626 cases of incident all-cause dementia were documented. In iduals with hypertension diagnosed at 35 to 44 years of age only (hazard ratio [95% CI]: 1.61 [1.31–1.99]) had a higher risk of all-cause dementia compared with the corresponding controls after adjustment for covariates. Hypertension diagnosed in young adulthood or mid-life, but not late life is associated with smaller brain volumes and an increased risk of dementia.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-07-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S12883-022-02772-5
Abstract: The worldwide prevalence of dementia is rapidly rising. Alzheimer’s disease (AD), accounts for 70% of cases and has a 10–20-year preclinical period, when brain pathology covertly progresses before cognitive symptoms appear. The 2020 Lancet Commission estimates that 40% of dementia cases could be prevented by modifying lifestyle/medical risk factors. To optimise dementia prevention effectiveness, there is urgent need to identify in iduals with preclinical AD for targeted risk reduction. Current preclinical AD tests are too invasive, specialist or costly for population-level assessments. We have developed a new online test, TAS Test, that assesses a range of motor-cognitive functions and has capacity to be delivered at significant scale. TAS Test combines two innovations: using hand movement analysis to detect preclinical AD, and computer-human interface technologies to enable robust ‘self-testing’ data collection. The aims are to validate TAS Test to [1] identify preclinical AD, and [2] predict risk of cognitive decline and AD dementia. Aim 1 will be addressed through a cross-sectional study of 500 cognitively healthy older adults, who will complete TAS Test items comprising measures of motor control, processing speed, attention, visuospatial ability, memory and language. TAS Test measures will be compared to a blood-based AD biomarker, phosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau181). Aim 2 will be addressed through a 5-year prospective cohort study of 10,000 older adults. Participants will complete TAS Test annually and subtests of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Battery (CANTAB) biennially. 300 participants will undergo in-person clinical assessments. We will use machine learning of motor-cognitive performance on TAS Test to develop an algorithm that classifies preclinical AD risk (p-tau181-defined) and determine the precision to prospectively estimate 5-year risks of cognitive decline and AD. This study will establish the precision of TAS Test to identify preclinical AD and estimate risk of cognitive decline and AD. If accurate, TAS Test will provide a low-cost, accessible enrichment strategy to pre-screen in iduals for their likelihood of AD pathology prior to more expensive tests such as blood or imaging biomarkers. This would have wide applications in public health initiatives and clinical trials. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05194787 , 18 January 2022. Retrospectively registered.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2019
No related grants have been discovered for Eddy Roccati.