| Cohort Name |
Cognitive Function and Ageing Study Wales |
| Cohort Acronym |
CFAS Wales |
| Study Overview |
The Cognitive Function and Ageing Study - Wales (CFAS-Wales) is a longitudinal study looking at health and cognitive function in older people living in Wales, building on the design and infrastructure of the successful Cognitive Function and Ageing Study collaboration (CFAS). The study areas are Anglesey and parts of Gwynedd in North Wales and Neath and Port Talbot in South Wales, including both rural and urban localities, and areas where a high proportion of the population speak Welsh. Recruitment for CFAS Wales began in 2011 with the follow up wave (2 years after initial interview) being completed in early 2016.This study provides data complementing that from an earlier survey conducted in the mid-1990s (CFAS-I), which included the North Wales site, and is closely linked to the CFAS II project based in three sites in England. Following on from CFAS-I, the present study established a new cohort of 3,500 older people (aged 65+) enabling an evaluation of changes that have occurred over the last 15 years in lifestyle, including exercise and activities, and people's expectations of ageing, services and families, to be conducted. At wave 2, 2,237 people were re-interviewed. The initial sample was drawn at random from GP lists in the participating areas, with equal numbers from those aged 65-75 and those over 75. People living in care homes were included in the sample. Participants were interviewed in English or Welsh, according to their preference. The aims of CFAS Wales were broad and include examinations of activity and participation, social networks and social resources, health and cognitive function, cognitive reserve and lifestyle factors, resilience and adaptation and environmental influences. The standard CFAS interview has been augmented for CFAS Wales with additional measures relating to loneliness, life satisfaction, resilience, use of Welsh (and other) language(s), and (at wave 2) personality, social cohesion, financial resources and access to services. The interview at each wave includes the CAMCOG cognitive tests, and allows the AGECAT diagnostic algorithms to be run, for dementia, depression and anxiety disorders. |
| #Subjects at Baseline |
3593 |
| Institution Name |
Bangor University |
| Department Name |
School of Health Sciences |
| City |
Bangor |
| Study/Database Website |
CFAS Wales Bangor | Maintaining Function and Well-Being in Later Life: A Longitudinal Cohort Study (CFAS Wales) |
| Principal Investigator (PI) |
Prof Bob Woods |
| Key Study References |
See http://cfaswales.bangor.ac.uk/reports-pubs.php.en |
| Population Based Study? |
Yes |
| Family Based Study? |
No |
| Clinical based sample? |
No |
| Is there follow-up data available? |
Yes |
| Were participants included prior to development of dementia (may refer to controls only)? |
Yes |
| Were participants included prior to development of MCI (may refer to controls only)? |
Yes |
| How is data collected? |
In person |
| Who carries out data collection? |
Trained interviewer |
| Does this take place in participants' homes or at a central location? |
Home |
| Do participants take part individually or are families/partners involved? |
Individually and Family: An informant interview for those with a cognitively impaired profile, and for a random selection of those without, was requested for 20% of the sample. |
| Dementia cases ascertained as part of study: |
Yes |
| How many times followed up? |
1 |
| Study start date |
01/07/2010 00:00:00 |
| Study end date |
31/12/2016 00:00:00 |
| Is study ongoing? |
Yes |
| Is study still recruiting? |
No |
| Inclusion criteria |
Born before 1946. Speaks English or Welsh proficiently. Lives in the cohort catchment area. |
| Exclusion criteria |
Born after 1946. Anyone not proficient in English or Welsh excluded from the sample. |