# Wisconsin Longitudinal Study - Initial Lifetime's Impact on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (WLS-ILIAD Study)

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2022 · $2,488,576

## Abstract

Abstract: There is a robust consensus, most recently articulated by the 2017 Lancet Commission, that the
roots of dementia—and thus the possibility for prevention of dementia—can be traced back to early life. Yet,
the influence of the early life period on dementia risk, as well as adult behaviors that can offset that risk,
remains poorly understood. There is a lack of longitudinal studies with richly characterized full life course
measures of genetic, cognitive, geographic, socioeconomic, educational and behavioral factors. Rooted in life
course epidemiology, this project aims to help clarify biological and behavioral processes that operate across
the life course to influence dementia risk. Key to this framework is the critical influence of early life. Findings
from this study could have important public policy and public health implications by providing evidence as to
how, especially, early life socioeconomic conditions and adult modifiable behaviors can alter the risk for
AD/ADRD. Consequently, the study aims are as follows: Aim 1: Track the progression of dementia across
cognitive phenotypes (normal, AD dementia, non-AD dementia), including the use of rigorous AD diagnostic
protocols, in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), a 60 year longitudinal study. Participants will be in their
late 70s at baseline. Aim 2: Test the role of early life disadvantage/advantage on the risk for AD/ADRD in later
life. In particular, we will test how persistent socioeconomic disadvantage in childhood, lower levels of cognitive
functioning, and living in rural communities influence the risk for AD/ADRD in later life. The measures available
in the WLS to capture these early life factors are unparalleled in existing dementia studies. Aim 3: Test
whether early life disadvantage may be offset by adult behavioral protective factors. Can subsequent
educational attainment, even when gained in ones 30s and 40s, and engagement in healthy behaviors (e.g.
not smoking, maintaining a normal weight, and engaging in exercise), offset early life disadvantages such as
lower levels of cognitive functioning and growing up socioeconomically disadvantaged? Sibling models, a
unique feature of these data, will provide a mechanism to partially address potential genetic and familial
environment confounders. We will also test how these adult behaviors mediate the relationship between sex
and AD/ADRD. Aim 4: Test whether adolescent IQ and educational attainment moderate genetic risk for
AD/ADRD. Aim 5: We will create a public good: a data resource that can facilitate cutting edge dementia
research. All researchers-via our website- will have access to all the data WLS has to offer—this includes all
phenotypic and genetic data.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10440343
- **Project number:** 5R01AG060737-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** Sanjay Asthana
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $2,488,576
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-15 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10440343

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10440343, Wisconsin Longitudinal Study - Initial Lifetime's Impact on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (WLS-ILIAD Study) (5R01AG060737-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10440343. Licensed CC0.

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