EcoMind and biological pathways in cognitive aging – Debora Rizzuto group

Our research focuses on the role of environmental exposures on cognition and mental health. We also investigate the biological underpinnings that underly the link between environmental pollution and cognitive aging, by exploring the impact of different pool of biomarkers on the pathway linking air pollution to dementia.

Part of the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society
NEAR
Logo Photo: NEAR

NEAR

The National E-infrastructure for Aging Research (NEAR) is a unique research infrastructure that was founded in 2018. NEAR facilitates the use of databases from major population longitudinal studies on aging and health in Sweden. It is a collaboration between eight universities including Karolinska Institutet, University of Gothenburg, Lund University, Umeå University, Jönköping University, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Uppsala University and Stockholm University.

Research news and upcoming activities

Our research

Our research focuses on the role of environmental pollutants (air pollution, noise, and green space) on cognition and mental health. We also investigate the biological underpinnings that underly the link between environmental pollution and cognitive aging, by exploring the impact of different pool of biomarkers on the pathway linking air pollution to dementia. Finally, we study the accuracy of blood biomarkers toward dementia (of neurodegeneration and aging-related) in a population setting and we explore their role in dementia development in older adults.

Publications

Selected publications

Doctoral theses

2023

Jing Wu: "Ambient air pollution and transportation noise: how they affect mental health in older adults"

2020

Giulia Grande: "Development of dementia in older adults: the body-mind connection"

2013

Debora Rizzuto: "Living Longer than Expected: Protective and Risk Factors of Human Longevity"

Funding

  • Swedish Research Council
  • Forte (Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life, and Welfare)
  • Hjärnfonden

Staff and contact

Group leader

All members of the group

Contact and visit us

Postal address

Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society
Karolinska Institutet
SE-171 77 Stockholm

Visiting address

Tomtebodavägen 18 A, Widerström Building, floors 9 and 10
SE-171 65 Solna

Map - Tomtebodavägen 18a, Solna

Current projects

Air pollution and brain aging: uncovering the biological mechanisms

With this project we seek to identify the biological mechanisms underpinning the association between AP and brain aging. The project takes advantage of the Swedish National E-Infrastructure on Aging Research (NEAR), formed by well-established population-based, longitudinal cohorts that have collected – and are currently collecting – data from clinical assessments, biological samplings, and advanced neuroimaging.

SoundMIND – effects of noise on cognition and mental health

This project is assessing the relation between long-term exposure to traffic and occupational noise with dementia and mental health in elderly people within several population-based Scandinavian cohorts. The project mainly makes use of pre-existing data within the Nordic Studies on Occupational and Traffic Noise in Relation to Disease (NordSOUND) project (https://www.cancer.dk/nordsound/). The ongoing NordSOUND project includes data from nine well-established Scandinavian population-based longitudinal cohorts that have collected data from clinical assessments, biological samplings, and state-of-the-art imaging techniques. The project is founded by FORTE.

Blood biomarkers and dementia in a population setting

With this project we aim to: 1) Deepen our knowledge on the validity of blood biomarkers of dementia in a general population setting, while accounting for several aspects that can influence the blood levels of these biomarkers as well as their diagnostic accuracy; 2) Expand our understanding of the biology of dementia in the oldest, by studying different possible pathways underlying the onset of the disorder.

PI: Giulia Grande

Team member: Martina Valletta

Intergenerational differences in cognitive trajectories among Swedish older adults

This project aims to explore if we are observing a delayed dementia onset at the expenses of an expansion of the years lived in mild disease stages, or if the onset of mild stages is delayed as well. Further, we want to characterize and quantify the factors that might explain observed changes in those trends in different generations.