Screening of Dementia in the Hong Kong Chinese Population

This is a population-based study that aims to establish metabolomic and genetic information pool from the local population for the search of molecular markers in dementia. The combination of multi-omics data with the information available from genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics has offered unprecedented possibilities to enhance current understanding of dementia by elucidating the mechanisms and uncovering hidden associations between omics variables. In addition to nucleic acid and protein information, metabolites in the form of small molecules reflect the interactions within a biological system that comprising a specific molecular phenotype. In this study, we will incorporate the metabolomics data into our existing omics research database. The study will be divided into 2 phases. In phase 1, basic demographic and clinical parameters will be collected together with stored blood sample for research purpose. In phase 2, selected subsets of phase I participants will undergo further evaluation based on specific research questions. Additional assessment in phase II will include but not limited to extended neurocognitive assessments, mood disorders screening, and brain imaging.