Background: Telephone and videoconference administration of cognitive tests introduce additional sources of variance compared to in-person testing. Reviews of test-retest reliability have included mixed neurocognitive and psychiatric populations with limited consideration of methodological and statistical contributions. Objective: We reviewed reliability estimates from comparison studies of older adults with and without dementia, considering test-retest analyses and study methods. Methods: Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were systematically searched from 1 January 2000 to 9 June 2020 for original articles comparing telephone or videoconference administered cognitive instruments to in-person administration in older adults with and without dementia or mild cognitive impairment. Results: Of 4,125 articles, 23 were included: 11 telephone (N = 2 dementia cohorts) and 12 videoconference (N = 4 dementia cohorts). Telephone administered subtest scores trended in the same direction as in-person with comparable means. Person-level data were scarce. Data on dementia was only available for MMSE, with resulting subtle modality bias. MMSE, SMMSE, Letter Fluency, and HVLT-R in healthy to mild-moderate Alzheimer’s disease were particularly reliable for videoconference administration. Other tests show promise but require more observations and comprehensive analyses. Most studies used high-speed stable videoconferencing hardware resulting in a lack of ecological validity for home administration. Conclusion: Remote administration is often consistent with in-person administration but variable and limited at the person/test level. Improved statistical design and inclusion of dementia related cohorts in telephone studies is recommended. Reliability evidence is stronger for videoconferencing but with limited applicability to home administration and severe dementia. Improved reporting of administrative procedures is recommended.

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IntroductionIdentifying cost-effective, non-invasive biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a clinical and research priority. Speech data are easy to collect, and studies suggest it can identify those with AD. We do not know if speech features can predict AD biomarkers in a preclinical population.Methods and analysisThe Speech on the Phone Assessment (SPeAk) study is a prospective observational study. SPeAk recruits participants aged 50 years and over who have previously completed studies with AD biomarker collection. Participants complete a baseline telephone assessment, including spontaneous speech and cognitive tests. A 3-month visit will repeat the cognitive tests with a conversational artificial intelligence bot. Participants complete acceptability questionnaires after each visit. Participants are randomised to receive their cognitive test results either after each visit or only after they have completed the study. We will combine SPeAK data with AD biomarker data collected in a previous study and analyse for correlations between extracted speech features and AD biomarkers. The outcome of this analysis will inform the development of an algorithm for prediction of AD risk based on speech features.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been approved by the Edinburgh Medical School Research Ethics Committee (REC reference 20-EMREC-007). All participants will provide informed consent before completing any study-related procedures, participants must have capacity to consent to participate in this study. Participants may find the tests, or receiving their scores, causes anxiety or stress. Previous exposure to similar tests may make this more familiar and reduce this anxiety. The study information will include signposting in case of distress. Study results will be disseminated to study participants, presented at conferences and published in a peer reviewed journal. No study participants will be identifiable in the study results.

BACKGROUND Background: Harnessing the power of big data has unexplored potential in the field of dementia and brain health research. However, as interest in big data increases it is important to learn what the public understands about the use of their routinely collected healthcare data for research purposes, and their attitudes to such use. Participants’ data is increasingly collected in studies with open-data access processes in place, and through informed consent processes, participants show their willingness to share their data in this way. There remains an inherent flaw in research studies whereby the participants may not reflect the population at large representing a sampling bias. Access to medical records allows research studies to include a wholly representative sample. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore attitudes held by members of the public on the use of their healthcare data for dementia research purposes. METHODS Methods: Data was collected in a series of focus groups with semi-structured discussions. Transcripts from the focus groups were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS Results: Participants reported a willingness for their anonymised healthcare data to be accessed and used for research purposes, with some caveats for identifiable or highly sensitive data. Participants were happier for trusted organisations, such as the UK’s National Health Service and universities, to access their data compared to pharmaceutical companies. Clear and transparent communication about both the use of healthcare data in research studies and about study results was highlighted as important to participants. There was general misunderstanding about what healthcare data included and how researchers use healthcare data. CONCLUSIONS Conclusions: Overall, our findings underline the importance of clear communication to build trust and understand in the public about how their healthcare data can be used to support high quality dementia and brain health focussed data research. CLINICALTRIAL NA

Previous studies have demonstrated an association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and better cognitive performance, lower incidence of dementia and lower Alzheimer's disease biomarker burden. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence base for MedDiet associations with hippocampal volume and white matter hyperintensity volume (WMHV). We searched systematically for studies reporting on MedDiet and hippocampal volume or WMHV in MedLine, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsycInfo. Searches were initially carried out on 21st July 2021 with final searches run on 23rd November 2022. Risk of bias was assessed using the NIH Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. Of an initial 112 papers identified, seven papers were eligible for inclusion in the review reporting on 21,933 participants. Four studies reported on hippocampal volume, with inconclusive or no associations seen with MedDiet adherence. Two studies found a significant association between higher MedDiet adherence and lower WMHV, while two other studies found no significant associations. Overall these results highlight a gap in our knowledge about the associations between the MedDiet and AD and cerebrovascular related structural neuroimaging findings.