Costa Rica Longevity and Healthy Aging — Wave 4 (CRELES)
Official title: Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study (CRELES): Wave 4
Funded at University of California Berkeley · NIH-11310115 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project continues interviews, physical checks, blood tests, and new memory testing for older adults in Costa Rica to understand aging and dementia.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Berkeley NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Berkeley, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2025 |
| Project end | December 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $160,274 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG091512-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11310115 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are CRELES participants now aged 70 or older and their current spouses, especially those willing to do interviews, cognitive testing, and blood draws.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not residents of Costa Rica, those younger than the targeted age group, or anyone unwilling to provide interview information or blood samples are unlikely to be eligible or benefit directly.
What this research studies
If you took part in earlier CRELES visits or are the spouse of a participant, the team will try to reach you for a new round of interviews and health measurements. Researchers will do physical exams, draw blood for biomarkers, and add a detailed cognitive test battery plus informant interviews based on the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP). The focus is on people aged 70 and older, with spouses included regardless of age, and the goal is long-term follow-up of survivors from the original national sample. Collected data will be used to study patterns of dementia, aging, and factors linked to longer, healthier lives in Costa Rica.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Results could help identify protective factors, improve early detection, and guide better care for dementia among older adults in Costa Rica and similar populations.
How similar studies have gone: Other long-term aging cohorts using HCAP and biomarker collection have yielded valuable findings, and earlier CRELES waves successfully followed older Costa Ricans.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California Berkeley
Berkeley, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Dow, William H — University of California Berkeley
- Study coordinator: Dow, William H
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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.