Approved Research

Population-specific brain normative study and their association with common chronic disease, hypertension and diabetes, in conjunction with lifestyle factors.

Lay summary

Aims

The aim of this study is to 1) identify patterns of healthy brain aging, 2) identify different patterns of brain aging in people with/without the common chronic diseases (for example, diabetes or hypertension), and 3) investigate the effect of smoking, alcohol drinking, and physical activities on the brain aging patterns.

Scientific Rationale

The well-established patterns of brain aging for the healthy and unhealthy populations are important in describing and understanding the status of an individual's brain health. Our study is to provide how a healthy brain looks across ages and then compare the healthy brain patterns against people with common conditions (diabetes and hypertension). Finally, our study further planned to investigate the effect of daily habits on brain health so that beneficial habits for a healthy brain can be suggested at the end of this study. The common habits include smoking, alcohol drinking, and exercise. The brain imaging patterns considering those common chronic conditions and habits will help to better understand the healthy or unhealthy brain patterns and thus to build their healthy daily life.

Expected duration of the project

The project is planned to take three years after the data is downloaded; 3 months for data cleaning and processing, 6 months for each aim 1, 2, and 3 (total of 18 months), 12 months for model validation and improvement, and 3 months to finalize the study with publication preparation.

Public health impact of the work

The outcome of this study will have an important impact on public health by providing a standard of the brain pattern with or without common conditions and habits. The understanding of the healthy brain is important to the early identification of individuals with any neurologic or mental conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and depression. The study also could suggest a set of healthy daily behavior for better brain aging.