Following Chinese adults over time to understand Alzheimer's disease and dementia
Follows adults across China to help predict and diagnose Alzheimer's disease earlier.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: China HEalthy Aging and Dementia Study (HEAD)
Key facts
- Where
- Beijing, Changchun, Chengdu, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hefei, Jinan, Nanjing, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Taizhou, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xiamen, Xining, and Zhoukou, ChinaSee the 30 sites
AI summary: who the study is looking for
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The study is looking for people living in Chinese communities, aged 50-79 years (community cohort), or people from families with Alzheimer's disease who have it themselves (family sub-cohort).
- Age
- Community cohort: 50-79 years. Family sub-cohort: 18 years or older.
- Sex
- All sexes can join.
- Disease stage
- Community cohort: no disease stage is asked for. Family sub-cohort: Alzheimer's disease by the 2011 NIA-AA criteria, with at least two first-degree relatives with AD across at least two consecutive generations.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Refusing consent, questionnaires or blood and other samples
- Stroke within the past six months (self-reported)
- Illness that can affect thinking, such as epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, brain tumour or severe psychiatric illness
- Organ failure, cancer or another illness that shortens life expectancy
- For MRI scans: cannot tolerate MRI or has metal implants or other MRI contraindications
Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
Where in China
- Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, ChinaContact: Zhan-Jun ZhangTaking people
- Beijing Tiantan Hospital,Capital Medical UniversityBeijing, ChinaContact: Lin AiTaking people
- Beijing University of Posts and TelecommunicationsBeijing, ChinaContact: Yong LiuTaking people
- Chinese PLA General HospitalBeijing, ChinaContact: Hong-Xiang YaoTaking people
- Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical SciencesBeijing, ChinaContact: Jun-Ying ZhangTaking people
- Peking Union Medical College HospitalBeijing, ChinaContact: Na NiuTaking people
- Peking UniversityBeijing, ChinaContact: Jun-Liang YuanTaking people
- Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical UniversityBeijing, ChinaContact: Long-Fei JiaTaking people
- Jilin UniversityChangchun, ChinaContact: Yu YangTaking people
- Sichuan UniversityChengdu, ChinaContact: Xue-Ping ChenTaking people
- Army Medical University, ChinaChongqing, ChinaContact: Xian-Le BuTaking people
- Fujian Medical UniversityFuzhou, ChinaContact: Xiao-Chun ChenTaking people
- Southern Medical UniversityGuangzhou, ChinaContact: Wei-Dong ChengTaking people
- Sun Yat-sen UniversityGuangzhou, ChinaContact: Ya-Mei TangTaking people
- The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, ChinaContact: Xi-Ping DingTaking people
- Shandong First Medical UniversityJinan, ChinaContact: Lin SongTaking people
- Southeast University, ChinaNanjing, ChinaContact: Chun-Ming XieTaking people
- Qingdao UniversityQingdao, ChinaContact: Hui-Fu WangTaking people
- Fudan UniversityShanghai, ChinaContact: Jin-Tai YuTaking people
- Ruijin Hospital Shanghai Jiaotong University School of MedicineShanghai, ChinaContact: Jian-Fang MaTaking people
- Shanghai UniversityShanghai, ChinaContact: Jie-Hui JiangTaking people
- Tongji UniversityShanghai, ChinaContact: Yun-Xia LiTaking people
- Shenzhen Bay LaboratoryShenzhen, ChinaContact: Zhen LiuTaking people
- Shenzhen UniversityShenzhen, ChinaContact: Qing GuanTaking people
- Fudan University Taizhou Institute of Health SciencesTaizhou, ChinaContact: Ke-Lin XuTaking people
- Tianjin Medical UniversityTianjin, ChinaContact: Nan ZhangTaking people
- Wuhan University of Science and TechnologyWuhan, ChinaContact: Yan ZengTaking people
- The First Affiliated hospital of Xiamen UniversityXiamen, ChinaContact: Kun-Mu ZhengTaking people
- Qinghai Provincial People's HospitalXining, ChinaContact: Ai-Qin ZhuTaking people
- Zhoukou Central HospitalZhoukou, ChinaContact: Lei ZhangTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorTrial details
- Who runs it
- Fudan University
- Trial code
- NCT07912710
- Record updated
- 3 November 2026
- Original description
The China HEalthy Aging and Dementia (HEAD) study is a large-scale, community-based, multi-center prospective cohort study covering eastern, northern, southern, and central-western regions of China. By integrating comprehensive clinical, neuroimaging, biospecimen, and multi-omics data, the study aims to advance the early prediction and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) and provide a foundation for future intervention studies in the Chinese population.Read full original descriptionShow less
China HEalthy Aging and Dementia Study (HEAD)
The China HEalthy Aging and Dementia (HEAD) study is a large-scale, community-based, multi-center prospective cohort study covering eastern, northern, southern, and central-western regions of China. By integrating comprehensive clinical, neuroimaging, biospecimen, and multi-omics data, the study aims to advance the early prediction and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) and provide a foundation for future intervention studies in the Chinese population.
The primary aims of the China HEAD study are as follows:
1. To establish a community-based prospective cohort by recruiting over 20,000 participants from eastern, northern, southern, western, and middle regions of China. 2. To build a comprehensive biobank by collecting demographic information, disease history, cognitive function, physical measures, electrophysiologic data, multimodal imaging data, as well as biospecimens and derived multi-omics data. 3. To conduct early prediction and diagnosis studies for ADRD and support future intervention studies based on the above-mentioned cohort and biobank.
Inclusion: China HEAD Community Cohort:; Resident in a Chinese community; Aged 50-79 years; Have adequate vision and hearing (with glasses or hearing aids if necessary), and be able to walk, communicate, and complete study-related assessments (including questionnaires, physical examinations, neuropsychological assessments, and biospecimen collection) independently or with assistance; Willing to provide written informed consent for baseline assessments, follow-up, biospecimen donation, and data collection; China HEAD Familial Sub-cohort:; Resident in a Chinese community; Aged 18 years or older; Have a family history of Alzheimer's disease (AD) involving at least two first-degree relatives across at least two consecutive generations, with AD diagnoses previously established at tertiary hospitals and verified through medical history; Meet the 2011 National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) diagnostic criteria for AD; Have adequate vision and hearing (with glasses or hearing aids if necessary), and be able to walk, communicate, and complete study-related assessments (including questionnaires, physical examinations, neuropsychological assessments, and biospecimen collection) independently or with assistance; Willing to provide written informed consent for baseline assessments, follow-up, biospecimen donation, and data collection.
Exclusion: Self-reported stroke events (e.g., cerebral hemorrhage or cerebral infarction) within the past six months; Self-reported diseases potentially impairing cognition, including congenital intellectual disability, intracranial tumors, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, or severe psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia requiring medication; Self-reported major organ failure (e.g., liver or kidney failure), malignancy, or other conditions associated with a shortened life expectancy that prevent completion of follow-up assessments; Additional exclusion criteria for participants undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI):; Inability to tolerate MRI examinations or contraindications to MRI, including claustrophobia; MRI-incompatible implanted pacemakers, aneurysm clips, artificial heart valves, cochlear implants, or other metallic implants; or other clinical conditions or examination findings that investigators consider potentially harmful during MRI; The following exclusion criteria apply to participants in the HEAD study:; Refusal to provide written informed consent; Refusal to participate in questionnaires or other data collection procedures; Refusal to provide blood or other biological samples.