The FINGER-NL lifestyle research was started at the beginning of 2022. At the time, professor Wiesje van der Flier and professor Erik Scherder tell us below Time for MAX. They discuss the importance of lifestyle for brain health and the research that is being done on this.
The investigation has been going on for some time now. How are you doing? We will discuss this with researcher Lisa Waterink and participant Elly.
Lisa, could you briefly introduce yourself?
“I’m Lisa Waterink, and I’m a neuropsychologist at Alzheimer’s Center Amsterdam and I’m doing PhD research at groenonderzoek.nl and the FINGER-NL study. My research focuses on the influence of lifestyle changes on brain health. I mainly focus on the thinking ability.
At Hersenonderzoek.nl I investigate how we can best approach participants for scientific research. Finding participants is very difficult for researchers. That is why we want to better understand why people do or do not want to participate in research. Hopefully we can help researchers in other countries to start the same platform as Hersenonderzoek.nl.”
For the people who don’t know it yet, can you explain what the FINGER-NL study entails?
“The FINGER-NL study is a follow-up to the Finnish FINGER study on lifestyle and brain health. FINGER-NL is a 2-year study in which we investigate the effect of a combination of lifestyle changes on the thinking ability of older people.
It is carried out by 5 Dutch research centers; Radboud University Medical Center, Wageningen University, University Medical Center Groningen, Maastricht University and Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC. Participants are between 60 and 80 years old.
The study will last approximately 2 years for participants. They participate in a lifestyle program aimed at various factors that are related to brain health. This includes exercise, memory training, cardiovascular health, nutrition, sleep, relaxation and social activities. The time investment per participant varies from 3 hours per week to 3 hours per month.
We want to use the results of the research to gain more insight into the relationship between lifestyle and thinking ability. We also hope to be able to provide more targeted lifestyle advice to improve the brain health of the elderly. “
Why is this so important?
“Researchers estimate that around 40 percent of dementia cases (study in English) are related to lifestyle. Yet many people do not know that a healthy lifestyle also contributes to their brain health. That is why it is good that more attention is being paid to the influence of lifestyle on brain health and the importance of prevention and research.”
FINGER-NL will start broadcasting on January 27, 2022 Time for MAX. How did this work?
“This was very special for us. We watched this broadcast together with colleagues from FINGER-NL and groenonderzoek.nl. Viewers could directly register for FINGER-NL on brain research.nl. The response and amount of registrations were overwhelming. The website even got stuck for a while due to the many visitors. Fortunately, that was quickly resolved.
The broadcast of MAX gave a huge boost to the start of the investigation. It was great to see how motivated people are to get involved in lifestyle. This flying start gave us extra motivation to get started!
In total, more than 3000 people have registered on brain research.nl after the broadcast. Not everyone met the eligibility requirements; this was informed by e-mail. In addition, questions were answered and participants were invited to the various research centers.”
The study has been going on for several months. What did these months look like for you?
“We have ensured that interested parties were invited to the right center with brain research.nl. My colleagues from FINGER-NL and I have had telephone intake interviews with interested parties to see if they can participate in the study. We couldn’t call everyone at once, so some people had to wait a while.
Furthermore, we performed the first measurements on included participants. Among other things, we measured blood pressure, completed questionnaires and conducted neuropsychological research in which brain functions such as memory and concentration were mapped.
The first groups of participants have now started their lifestyle programme. In this they receive lifestyle advice and they work on improving their lifestyle.”
So the first groups have started. How many participants have you already been able to include?
“The numbers differ per location, but in total more than 400 participants have undergone the first measurements and almost 300 participants have started their lifestyle program. New participants are included every week and a number of groups start the lifestyle programs every month.”
How many participants do you still need?
“We are well on the way, but many more participants are needed. Currently we have been able to include just over a third of the total of 1200 participants. That is very special for such a large study as FINGER-NL, but we are not there yet.
It is crucial to reach this number, because we need a large number of participants to draw reliable conclusions about the study.”
Participant experience
The 64-year-old Elly is one of the people who is already participating in FINGER-NL. She introduces herself and tells how she experiences her participation.
“I am married and I live in Amstelveen. I like to swim, play tennis, golf, walk and work out. At the moment my lifestyle is quite hectic due to a move. Normally I am sporty, and I exercise three times a week.
I was very enthusiastic about FINGER-NL. The research seemed very interesting to me. Especially because all aspects of lifestyle are looked at. My grandmother was also demented, and I don’t want to go through that myself. That’s why the link with brain health really appealed to me, because I’m afraid of going backwards myself.
Participating in the study is a lot of fun. The contact with the researchers was very pleasant. I was called for a telephone interview, which I experienced as very pleasant. My advice to people who have doubts about participating: don’t sit still! Find information about the research and especially ask the researchers questions.”
Got excited too? Register now
For the FINGER study, groenonderzoek.nl is looking for enthusiastic participants between the ages of 60 and 80 who live in the regions of Maastricht, Wageningen, Amsterdam, Nijmegen, and Groningen or Drachten. Participants must have at least 3 risk factors for cognitive decline; for example, high blood pressure, first-degree relatives with dementia, little exercise and an unhealthy diet. For more information, visit Brain Research.nl and register. Questions about the research? You can send this by mail to: [email protected].