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
Where in China
- Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, ChinaTaking people
- Beijing Tiantan Hospital,Capital Medical UniversityBeijing, ChinaTaking people
- Beijing University of Posts and TelecommunicationsBeijing, ChinaTaking people
- Chinese PLA General HospitalBeijing, ChinaTaking people
- Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical SciencesBeijing, ChinaTaking people
- Peking Union Medical College HospitalBeijing, ChinaTaking people
- Peking UniversityBeijing, ChinaTaking people
- Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical UniversityBeijing, ChinaTaking people
- Jilin UniversityChangchun, ChinaTaking people
- Sichuan UniversityChengdu, ChinaTaking people
- Army Medical University, ChinaChongqing, ChinaTaking people
- Fujian Medical UniversityFuzhou, ChinaTaking people
- Southern Medical UniversityGuangzhou, ChinaTaking people
- Sun Yat-sen UniversityGuangzhou, ChinaTaking people
- The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, ChinaTaking people
- Shandong First Medical UniversityJinan, ChinaTaking people
- Southeast University, ChinaNanjing, ChinaTaking people
- Qingdao UniversityQingdao, ChinaTaking people
- Fudan UniversityShanghai, ChinaTaking people
- Ruijin Hospital Shanghai Jiaotong University School of MedicineShanghai, ChinaTaking people
- Shanghai UniversityShanghai, ChinaTaking people
- Tongji UniversityShanghai, ChinaTaking people
- Shenzhen Bay LaboratoryShenzhen, ChinaTaking people
- Shenzhen UniversityShenzhen, ChinaTaking people
- Fudan University Taizhou Institute of Health SciencesTaizhou, ChinaTaking people
- Tianjin Medical UniversityTianjin, ChinaTaking people
- Wuhan University of Science and TechnologyWuhan, ChinaTaking people
- The First Affiliated hospital of Xiamen UniversityXiamen, ChinaTaking people
- Qinghai Provincial People's HospitalXining, ChinaTaking people
- Zhoukou Central HospitalZhoukou, ChinaTaking 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?
Trial 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.