The Religious Orders Study (ROS) and Memory and Aging Project (MAP) are two landmark longitudinal cohort studies of aging and cognitive decline. Conducted by researchers at Rush University, these studies have generated foundational data on the neuropathology, risk factors, and biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias.
The Religious Orders Study began in 1994 with:[1]
Launched in 1997, MAP includes:[2]
Both studies use identical:[3]
Annual assessments include:[4]
A unique strength: Nearly all participants consent to brain donation, enabling:[5]
ROS/MAP revealed that:[6]
Studies demonstrate:[7]
The studies identified:[8]
APOE4 carriers show:[9]
Higher education and religious participation:[10]
-buffers against pathology
ROS/MAP biomarker studies:[11]
Genomic studies identified:[12]
ROS/MAP established:[13]
Studies validated:
Data support:
Data are publicly available:[14]
Bennett DA, et al. Religious Orders Study and Memory and Aging Project: Overview and status. Journal of Gerontology. 2002. ↩︎
Bennett DA, et al. The Religious Orders Study: A decade of progress. Alzheimer's & Dementia. 2005. ↩︎
Esquivel PS, et al. Neuropsychological testing in ROS/MAP. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. 2015. ↩︎
Wilson RS, et al. Psychological and neural correlates of cognitive aging. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. 2013. ↩︎
Schneider JA, et al. Neuropathologic lesions in the Religious Orders Study. Acta Neuropathologica. 2022. ↩︎
Farfel JM, et al. Alzheimer's disease neuropathologic change in ROS/MAP. Acta Neuropathologica. 2019. ↩︎
Arvanitakis Z, et al. TDP-43 pathology in aging and AD. Neurology. 2016. ↩︎
Josephs KA, et al. Limbic predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE). Brain. 2017. ↩︎
Dawadi K, et al. APOE effects on neuropathology in ROS/MAP. Acta Neuropathologica Communications. 2022. ↩︎
Boyle PA, et al. Relation of formal religious participation to cognitive decline. JAMA Network Open. 2018. ↩︎
Yu L, et al. Translational biomarkers for AD in ROS/MAP. Alzheimer's & Dementia. 2020. ↩︎
Fardo DW, et al. Genomics and transcriptomics in ROS/MAP. Neurobiology of Aging. 2020. ↩︎
Bennett DA, et al. Overview and update from the Religious Orders Study. Current Alzheimer Research. 2012. ↩︎
ROS/MAP Official Website. 2024. ↩︎