Mild cognitive impairment in Aboriginal Australians.

Introduction: Aboriginal Australians have among the highest rates of dementia worldwide, yet no study has investigated the subtypes, risk factors, or longer term outcomes of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in this population.

Methods: A total of 336 community-dwelling Aboriginal Australians aged ≥60 years participated in a longitudinal study, completing a structured interview at baseline. MCI (amnestic subtype, aMCI; non-amnestic subtype, naMCI) and dementia were diagnosed via cognitive screening, medical assessment, and clinical consensus.

Factors Associated with the High Prevalence of Dementia in Older Aboriginal Australians.

Dementia prevalence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians is three to five times higher than the general Australian population. A better understanding of the underlying biomedical and social risk factors is needed to guide dementia prevention in Aboriginal Australians. The current study is the first to examine potential risk factors for dementia in the majority urban and regional population, with a representative sample of 336 Aboriginal Australians aged 60 years and older.

Childhood Stress and Adversity is Associated with Late-Life Dementia in Aboriginal Australians.

Objectives: High rates of dementia have been observed in Aboriginal Australians. This study aimed to describe childhood stress in older Aboriginal Australians and to examine associations with late-life health and dementia.

Design: A cross-sectional study with a representative sample of community-dwelling older Aboriginal Australians.

Comparison of Three Cognitive Screening Tools in Older Urban and Regional Aboriginal Australians.

Background: Validated cognitive screening tools for use in urban and regional Aboriginal populations in Australia are lacking.

Methods: In a cross-sectional community-based study, 235 participants were assessed on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) and an urban modification of the Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment (mKICA). Performance on these cognitive screening tools was compared to dementia diagnosis by clinical consensus.

Prevalence of dementia in urban and regional Aboriginal Australians.

Background: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of dementia in collaboration with urban/regional Aboriginal communities.

Methods: A census of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women aged 60 years and above in the target communities identified 546 potential participants, with 336 (61.5%) participating in this cross-sectional study.

The Koori Growing Old Well Study: investigating aging and dementia in urban Aboriginal Australians.

Background: Dementia is an emerging health priority in Australian Aboriginal communities, but substantial gaps remain in our understanding of this issue, particularly for the large urban section of the population. In remote Aboriginal communities, high prevalence rates of dementia at relatively young ages have been reported. The current study is investigating aging, cognitive decline, and dementia in older urban/regional Aboriginal Australians.

Long-term high-fat feeding leads to severe insulin resistance but not diabetes in Wistar rats.

Although lipid excess can impair beta-cell function in vitro, short-term high-fat feeding in normal rats produces insulin resistance but not hyperglycemia. This study examines the effect of long-term (10-mo) high polyunsaturated fat feeding on glucose tolerance in Wistar rats. The high fat-fed compared with the chow-fed group was 30% heavier and 60% fatter, with approximately doubled fasting hyperinsulinemia (P < 0.