YAHABA Study ―Yahaba Active Aging and Healthy Brain Study―

Abstract

Dementia, Parkinson disease, and stroke are typical common diseases in the field of neurology. All of them rank high among the underlying causes requiring caregiving, and considering the increasingly aging population in Japan, it is anticipated that some form of new initiative will become essential. The development of treatments relies heavily on research into early diagnosis and prevention of onset, making prospective studies targeting healthy elderly populations one of the key approaches for achieving this goal.

Since 2016, we have been participating in the “Japan Prospective Studies Collaboration for Aging and Dementia (JPSC-AD),” aiming to achieve a healthy and long–lived society. In Yahaba, Iwate, we initiated the prospective cohort study, “Yahaba Active Aging and Healthy Brain Study (YAHABA Study)” focusing on not only dementia but also Parkinson disease and stroke as major research targets. The first comprehensive survey was conducted by 2017. At the start of the study, there were 2,591 elderly residents aged 65 and above living in Yahaba, and we could recruit 951 participants, including 536 women and 415 men. We have completed the second comprehensive survey by 2022 and have initiated visit and follow–up surveys. Some evidences have already been established and the summaries are reported in this paper. We believe that the mission of the YAHABA Study is to disseminate evidence useful in the real world from Yahaba, Iwate.