The PORCH study is a second generation population-based epidemiological study to examine the role of parental protective factors of Alzheimer’s dementia and improved cognitive resilience in old age on the children’s risk to reduce future risk of Alzheimer’s disease and improved cognitive and cardiovascular health characteristics. The population-based study performs biennial assessments and collects a wide range of cognitive, cardiovascular, behavioral, lifestyle, and neuroimaging data. The second generation PORCH study is supported by National Institutes of Health study grants.
The important objectives of the PORCH study are to enhance the current understanding of cognitive resilience in old age and help focus on these resilience factors that might help offspring with better cognitive and brain health in a community-based midlife adults between the ages of 40 and 64 living in the southside of Chicago. Some of the unique features of the study include a second generational cohort of people living in communities with a large number of underrepresented and understudied minorities, approximately 50% African Americans, with equal representation of approximately 50% women.
Study materials collected in the PORCH study can be found on the data elements and questionnaires page.
The first generation parent study has published over 500 papers across a wide variety of scientific journals and several of those publications can be found here.
These papers cover an array of scientific topics, including:
The PORCH study collects research data on midlife individuals between the ages of 40 and 64. We share data through our research data portal.