Global mapping of memory loss and dementia causes (COSMIC Collaboration)
Official title: A global epidemiology of cognitive impairment and dementia due to Alzheimer's disease and related disorders: the COSMIC Collaboration
Funded at University of New South Wales · NIH-11143178 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are combining long-term health and memory data from many countries to learn which lifestyle and environmental factors change dementia risk for older adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of New South Wales NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Sydney, Australia) |
| Project start | September 15, 2017 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,385,421 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG057531-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11143178 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are older adults already enrolled in one of the participating population cohort studies, including people with normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, or early dementia.
✕Less likely to help
People with advanced or rapidly progressing dementia seeking immediate treatments are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this epidemiology-focused project.
What this research studies
If you're an older adult concerned about memory, this project brings together data from dozens of long-term population studies around the world so researchers can compare and combine information on memory, thinking skills, and health. By harmonizing and pooling individual participant data, the team studies how 12 modifiable risk factors (like education, blood pressure, hearing loss, and air pollution) relate to mild cognitive impairment and dementia across different countries and ethnic groups. The collaboration includes studies from low-, middle-, and high-income countries and aims to grow to around 300,000 people. Findings should help guide ways you and your community can lower dementia risk and support earlier diagnosis worldwide.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify common, changeable factors that lower the chance of dementia and guide prevention efforts globally.
How similar studies have gone: Many individual cohort studies have linked lifestyle and health factors to dementia risk, but this large international pooled analysis is a broader and relatively new approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of New South Wales
Sydney, Australia Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sachdev, Perminder S — University of New South Wales
- Study coordinator: Sachdev, Perminder S
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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.