Long-living adults often maintain cognitive function despite neuropathological changes, which is often attributed to cognitive resilience (CR)-a combined effect of cognitive and cerebral reserves. CR Show more
Long-living adults often maintain cognitive function despite neuropathological changes, which is often attributed to cognitive resilience (CR)-a combined effect of cognitive and cerebral reserves. CR is influenced by genetic, clinical, sociodemographic, and environmental factors. We investigated genetic, clinical, and environmental predictors of CR in 198 dementia-free long-living adults via two neuropsychological examinations over a 2-year period, a geriatric assessment, and a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Limited mobility, reduced walking, hearing impairment, depression, anemia, lower quality of life, and decreased BMI were key accelerators of CI. Depression, hypercholesterolemia, and lack of hobbies increased the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI)-to-dementia progression. GWAS identified CR-associated genetic variants, including a missense mutation in Our findings corroborated established risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and identified population-specific patterns, with APOE ε4 showing no significant association. Both protein-coding regions and non-coding elements were implicated in CI, suggesting that it is underlain by complex regulatory mechanisms. Show less