How does it work?

We sifted through the literature and identified 11 risk factors and 4 protective factors that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease. These include age, sex, education, body mass index, diabetes, depression, serum cholesterol, traumatic brain injury, smoking, alcohol intake, social engagement, physical activity, cognitive activity, fish intake, and pesticide exposure. All the data used were taken from high quality studies that together evaluated 1000s of people.

The ANU-ADRI has been developed to measure these 15 risk and protective factors to assess an individual’s future risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease to use in population-based settings and interventions. The research underpinning the development of the tool is published (read the research article). 

To evaluate how well the ANU-ADRI works when used in different settings, we calculated the risk and protective scores on three independent cohort studies from the United States and Sweden. These studies followed individuals to determine who developed Alzheimer’s disease. We found that the ANU-ADRI was a valid method to assess risk of Alzheimer’s disease in these samples. The scientific article reporting this work is also published (read the research article).

Individual ANU-ADRI scores are computed according to an algorithm that sums the points attributed to individual risk and protective factors. The points for each risk and protective factors were obtained from the standardised beta-weights derived from odds ratios of pooled effect sizes from meta-analyses and from large individual studies. The ANU-ADRI is continuously updated based on new research.