Beaver Dam Offspring Study: How midlife senses and aging markers relate to early Alzheimer’s and dementia
Official title: The Beaver Dam Offspring Study Neurocognitive Aging Study (BOSS-NCAS)-A Study on the Role of Accelerated Aging and Midlife Sensory Decline for Early Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia in Later Life
Funded at University of Wisconsin-Madison · NIH-11374798 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study follows adults who previously participated in a long-term cohort to see if midlife changes in hearing, vision, smell, and aging biomarkers can predict later risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Wisconsin-Madison NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Madison, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2022 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $689,628 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG079289-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11374798 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults aged 21 and older who were participants in the Beaver Dam Offspring Study and are willing to undergo hearing, vision, olfactory testing, cognitive assessments, and blood biomarker analysis.
✕Less likely to help
Some participants may not experience any direct benefit beyond contributing to scientific knowledge.
What this research studies
Researchers will use standardized tests from prior Beaver Dam studies to assess hearing, vision, and smell, plus a broad cognitive battery in midlife participants. They will add aging biomarkers from blood tests and review medical records and caregiver input to identify early signs of ADRD. The goal is to understand how sensory changes and aging markers together relate to dementia risk many years down the line. This is an observational epidemiologic study leveraging existing participants and data to map potential early indicators of cognitive decline.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help identify people at higher risk for ADRD earlier and guide strategies for monitoring and prevention.
How similar studies have gone: Prior cohorts have shown links between sensory changes and cognitive outcomes, supporting the plausibility of this approach, though the combined biomarker and sensory focus is still being explored.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Merten, Natascha — University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Study coordinator: Merten, Natascha
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.