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Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging
Research Guide
What is Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging?
Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging is the study of the exposome, encompassing the totality of environmental exposures throughout a person's life, including external and internal factors, and their biological responses in relation to health outcomes such as cognitive decline and aging-related diseases.
This field includes 58,713 papers on environmental epidemiology, omics-based biomarkers, cohort studies, and the impact of environmental factors on health and disease risks. UK Biobank provides a large population-based prospective study for investigating genetic and non-genetic determinants of diseases of middle and old age, with 12,286 citations. Growth rate over the last 5 years is not available.
Topic Hierarchy
Research Sub-Topics
Exposome and Environmental Epidemiology
This sub-topic maps lifelong environmental exposures using cohort data to link them with disease incidence. Researchers integrate air pollution, diet, and lifestyle factors in population studies.
Omics Biomarkers in Environmental Health
Focuses on genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics to identify exposure-response biomarkers for toxins and pollutants. Studies validate markers in biobanks like UK Biobank.
Cognitive Aging and Environmental Risk Factors
Examines how exposome elements like heavy metals and urbanicity accelerate mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Longitudinal analyses use neuroimaging and cognitive assessments.
Global Burden of Environmental Disease Risks
This area quantifies exposome-attributable disease burdens via GBD studies, covering cancers, neurological disorders, and cardio-metabolic conditions across regions.
Cohort Studies of Exposome-Health Interactions
Utilizes large cohorts like UK Biobank to dissect gene-environment interactions in exposome frameworks for chronic diseases. Methods include Mendelian randomization and machine learning.
Why It Matters
This field supports large-scale cohort studies like UK Biobank, which enable researchers to identify environmental and genetic factors contributing to cognitive aging and complex diseases in middle and old age, as described by Sudlow et al. (2015) with 12,286 citations. It informs global burden assessments, such as the prevalence of dementia estimated at global levels in 2019 and forecasted to 2050 in Nichols et al. (2022), aiding public health strategies for 204 countries. Frameworks like the NIA-AA Research Framework by Jack et al. (2018) with 9,603 citations define Alzheimer's disease biologically, linking environmental exposures to neurological risks documented in Feigin et al. (2019).
Reading Guide
Where to Start
"UK Biobank: An Open Access Resource for Identifying the Causes of a Wide Range of Complex Diseases of Middle and Old Age" by Sudlow et al. (2015), because it introduces a key cohort resource for studying environmental and genetic factors in cognitive aging diseases.
Key Papers Explained
Sudlow et al. (2015) "UK Biobank: An Open Access Resource for Identifying the Causes of a Wide Range of Complex Diseases of Middle and Old Age" establishes a cohort for genetic and non-genetic determinants, which Petersen et al. (1999) "Mild Cognitive Impairment" builds on by defining MCI as a precursor state amenable to intervention. Jack et al. (2018) "NIA‐AA Research Framework: Toward a biological definition of Alzheimer's disease" extends this with biological staging, while Nichols et al. (2022) "Estimation of the global prevalence of dementia in 2019 and forecasted prevalence in 2050: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019" applies cohort insights to global forecasting. Feigin et al. (2019) "Global, regional, and national burden of neurological disorders, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016" quantifies environmental impacts on neurology.
Paper Timeline
Most-cited paper highlighted in red. Papers ordered chronologically.
Advanced Directions
Research continues to leverage UK Biobank data for exposome analysis in cognitive aging, with frameworks from Jack et al. (2018) guiding biomarker integration. Global Burden studies like Nichols et al. (2022) forecast dementia trends, emphasizing needs for omics in cohort designs. No recent preprints available.
Papers at a Glance
| # | Paper | Year | Venue | Citations | Open Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UK Biobank: An Open Access Resource for Identifying the Causes... | 2015 | PLoS Medicine | 12.3K | ✓ |
| 2 | SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2003 | 2006 | Counseling And Psychol... | 11.5K | ✓ |
| 3 | NIA‐AA Research Framework: Toward a biological definition of A... | 2018 | Alzheimer s & Dementia | 9.6K | ✓ |
| 4 | Global burden of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territor... | 2020 | The Lancet | 8.9K | ✓ |
| 5 | Mild Cognitive Impairment | 1999 | Archives of Neurology | 8.8K | ✕ |
| 6 | IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans | 1995 | Journal of Clinical Pa... | 8.8K | ✓ |
| 7 | Research Domain Criteria (RDoC): Toward a New Classification F... | 2010 | American Journal of Ps... | 6.8K | ✕ |
| 8 | The WU-Minn Human Connectome Project: An overview | 2013 | NeuroImage | 6.0K | ✓ |
| 9 | Global, regional, and national burden of neurological disorder... | 2019 | The Lancet Neurology | 5.5K | ✓ |
| 10 | Estimation of the global prevalence of dementia in 2019 and fo... | 2022 | The Lancet Public Health | 4.5K | ✓ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the exposome in the context of cognitive aging?
The exposome encompasses the totality of environmental exposures throughout a person's life, including external and internal factors, and their biological responses. It relates to health outcomes like cognitive decline through studies on environmental epidemiology and omics-based biomarkers. Cohort studies such as UK Biobank investigate these exposures' impacts on diseases of middle and old age.
How does UK Biobank contribute to this field?
UK Biobank is a large population-based prospective study established to investigate genetic and non-genetic determinants of diseases of middle and old age. Sudlow et al. (2015) describe it as an open access resource with 12,286 citations. It supports research on environmental exposures and cognitive health.
What defines mild cognitive impairment?
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) differentiates patients from healthy controls and those with very mild Alzheimer's disease. Petersen et al. (1999) characterize MCI as a clinical entity suitable for treatment interventions, with 8,812 citations. It appears as a transitional state in cognitive aging studies.
Why is the NIA-AA Research Framework significant?
The NIA-AA Research Framework provides a biological definition of Alzheimer's disease, updating prior diagnostic recommendations. Jack et al. (2018) initiated this with 9,603 citations, addressing preclinical, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia stages. It integrates environmental and omics data for disease risk assessment.
What do Global Burden of Disease studies reveal?
Global Burden of Disease studies quantify risks and prevalence of neurological disorders and dementia. Nichols et al. (2022) estimate global dementia prevalence in 2019 and forecast to 2050, with 4,503 citations. Feigin et al. (2019) analyze the burden from 1990-2016, with 5,451 citations, highlighting environmental influences.
How are biomarkers used in this field?
Omics-based biomarkers assess biological responses to environmental exposures in cohort studies. They link the exposome to disease risks like cognitive aging. Papers in this cluster cover their application in environmental epidemiology.
Open Research Questions
- ? How do specific environmental exposures in the exposome interact with genetic factors to accelerate cognitive decline in middle age?
- ? What omics-based biomarkers best predict the transition from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease under varying environmental conditions?
- ? Which cohort study designs most effectively disentangle non-genetic environmental determinants from genetic risks in aging populations?
- ? How do global environmental changes contribute to the forecasted rise in dementia prevalence by 2050?
- ? What biological mechanisms underlie the impact of lifetime exposures on neurological disorder burdens across regions?
Recent Trends
The field maintains 58,713 works with no specified 5-year growth rate.
Citation leaders include Sudlow et al. UK Biobank at 12,286 citations and Jack et al. (2018) NIA-AA framework at 9,603 citations.
2015Recent Global Burden papers like Nichols et al. at 4,503 citations update dementia prevalence forecasts to 2050, building on exposome concepts without new preprints or news.
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