The main goal of this project is to identify whether higher levels of physical activity and other lifestyle factors, such as better sleep quality and reduced sedentary behaviour, are associated with better brain health. The study will focus on individuals who show early signs of neurodegeneration and are living with chronic health conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. The project will employ novel techniques to identify early neurodegenerative profiles in this population, based on neuroanatomical traits using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. We aim to determine whether favorable lifestyle factors provide neuroprotection within these neurodegenerative profiles and whether potential protective effects can be observed both cross-sectionally and longitudinally in behavioural (e.g., cognition and mobility) and biological signatures of aging and disease (e.g., blood-based biomarkers). The study will include UK Biobank participants who are community-dwelling, aged 45-59 years, and have available medical history, cardiometabolic, neuropsychological, neuroimaging, blood biomarkers, and actigraphy data.
