Risk Factors

Alcohol and cigarettes
The Risk Factors Group is interested in understanding and reducing the cognitive impacts of modifiable risk factors for dementia across the lifespan

Our research aims to gain a better understanding of the impact of modifiable risk factors on brain health across the lifespan. In addition, we are interested in developing scalable prevention and intervention strategies that improve brain health through risk factor reduction.

As a more recently identified modifiable risk factor for dementia and cognitive decline, the Risk Factors Group is particularly interested in understanding the impact of alcohol exposure on brain health across the lifespan. Partnering with the Epidemiology and Neuroimaging Groups, this involves the application of novel epidemiological methods to population-based observational and neuroimaging datasets to robustly establish the relationship between alcohol use and brain health during key stages of lifespan development. This includes large-scale projects focusing on older adults using data from the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study and the COSMIC cohort studies, as well as projects focusing on early life exposures using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study based in the US.

In terms of prevention and intervention, we are currently conducting a large-scale randomised controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of an online alcohol intervention for reducing alcohol use and cognitive decline in older adults (the Rethink My Drink Study).

Group Members