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ArticleResearch square2025

Cohort Profile: The Lebanon Study on Aging and HeAlth (LSAHA).

Carlos Mendes de Leon, Martine Elbejjani, Sawsan Abdulrahim, Halla Ghattas, Aya El Sammak, Alexandra Abi Nassif, Frederic Conrad, Raphael Nishimura, Stephen J McCall, Abla M Sibai and 1 more

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Article in Research square, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Carlos Mendes de LeonGeorgetown University School of Health.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3020-826X
Martine ElbejjaniAmerican University of Beirut.
Sawsan AbdulrahimAmerican University of Beirut.
Halla GhattasUniversity of South Carolina.
Aya El SammakAmerican University of Beirut.
Alexandra Abi NassifAmerican University of Beirut.
Frederic ConradUniversity of Michigan.
Raphael NishimuraUniversity of Michigan.
Stephen J McCallAmerican University of Beirut.
Abla M SibaiAmerican University of Beirut.
Monique ChaayaAmerican University of Beirut.

Funding

Dementia and Related Health and Social Challenges in Lebanon: A Population StudyR01AG069016 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI MENDES DE LEON, CARLOS F. · 2020 to 2024
$3.6M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG069016
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: This paper describes the design and cohort profile of the Lebanon Study on Aging and HeAlth (LSAHA), the first population-level study of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) in an Arab country. The burden due to ADRD in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is among the highest in the world, but reliable population-level data on ADRD in the region are lacking. Older adults in Lebanon have experienced prolonged periods of social and economic instability due to political conflicts and chronic government mismanagement. The effects of these destabilizing experiences throughout the life course on ADRD risk and other late-life health outcomes are currently unknown. Methods: LSAHA is designed as a prospective cohort study of ADRD in a large sample of adults aged ≥ 60 years in Lebanon. We employed a probability-based multi-stage sampling design in two pre-selected areas, the city of Beirut and district of Zahle, to represent the full range of urban-rural, socio-economic, and religious diversity in Lebanon. Data collection included a standardized survey questionnaire including validated cognitive tests and anthropometric measurements, a household interview, key informant assessments, and a blood sample. Survey weights were computed to account for differential non-response and calibrated for the age- and sex-distribution in the two study areas. Results: LSAHA enrolled 3,027 participants, 1,510 from Beirut and 1,517 from Zahle, realizing a response rate of 69%. The average age of the sample was 71.7 years and 55.3% was female, 43.1% had primary education or less, while 19.9% had university training. There was a high prevalence of chronic medical conditions, such as hypertension (57.2%), heart disease (32.4%), and diabetes (32.7%). There was also a high prevalence of moderate/severe symptoms of depression (51.4%) and anxiety (34.1%). A substantial percentage reported fair or poor self-rated memory (52.1%) or having worse memory compared to 2 years ago (38.4%). Conclusions: We successfully launched a new cohort study of older adults in Lebanon to investigate ADRD and its risk factors. Data from this study will inform clinical care and policy goals in Lebanon and other settings that face a rapidly growing number of older adults with ADRD.

Indexed as

agingAlzheimer’s diseasecohort studiesdementialife-course risk factorswar exposures

Identifiers

PMID41041577
PMCPMC12486095

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.