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AlzRisk Cohort Detail
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Cohort: North Karelia Project/FINMONICA/Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Dementia
Website: http://www.ktl.fi/portal/english/research__people___programs/health_promotion_and_chronic_disease_prevention/projects/cindi/north__karelia_project/ct/
Risk Factors: B Vitamins,
Blood Pressure,
Dietary Pattern,
Homocysteine,
Obesity,
Physical Activity

Introduction to the Cohort
In 1972, the North Karelia Project was established as a community-based intervention study aimed at reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk through modification of known risk factors for CVD. Five cross-sectional surveys have been completed as part of this project (1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992). For the first two each surveys (1972 and 1977), study investigators recruited a stratified random sample of the area residents born between 1913 and 1947. For the last three (1982, 1987, and 1992), study investigators recruited a stratified random sample of residents aged 25-64.

A random sample of 2,000 surviving participants from the first four NKP/FINMONICA surveys who were 65-79 and who were living in or around Kuopio or Joensuu, Finland in 1997 were invited to re-examination in 1998. This new sample is referred to as the CAIDE (Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Dementia) cohort. Altogether 1,409 of these subjects (70.5%) completed the re-examination. The study population was comprised of 1,341 non-demented participants (68 demented persons were excluded) at follow-up: 835 women (62.3%) and 506 men (37.7%). The mean age (SD) of the population was 50.2 (6.0) years at the time of the midlife examination and 71.1 (4.0) years at the follow-up examination.

Participants were originally drawn from the North Karelia and Kuopio areas of Finland, but from 1982, the project was expanded to include an area of southwestern Finland, including the city of Turku and the town of Loimaa. Sampling and survey methods were similar to or followed the World Health Organization (WHO) Multinational Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease (MONICA) protocol, and data from the project has been used in the WHO MONICA project.

Ethnicity Breakdown
All participants were residents of their respective areas of Finland. No information on the ethnic background of participants has been provided.

Diagnosis & Evaluation Methods
For a detailed description, please see Kivipelto et al. 2001.

References
Kivipelto M, Helkala EL, Hänninen T, Laakso MP, Hallikainen M, Alhainen K, Soininen H, Tuomilehto J, Nissinen A. Midlife vascular risk factors and late-life mild cognitive impairment. Neurology. 2001;56:1683-1689.

Puska P, Tuomilehto J, Salonen J, Neittaanmaki L, Maki J, Virtamo J, et al. Changes in coronary risk factors during comprehensive five-year community programme to control cardiovascular diseases (North Karelia project). Br Med J. 1979 Nov 10;2(6199):1173-1178.

Vartiainen E, Puska P, Jousilahti P, Korhonen HJ, Tuomilehto J, Nissinen A. Twenty-year trends in coronary risk factors in north Karelia and in other areas of Finland. Int J Epidemiol. 1994 Jun;23(3):495-504.