The Gwangju Alzheimer’s & Related Dementias (GARD) Cohort: Over a Decade of Korea’s Largest Longitudinal Multimodal Study
Listed in
This article is not in any list yet, why not save it to one of your lists.Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a major public health concern in Korea, with a high prevalence among older adults. A community-based longitudinal study is essential for tracking disease progression, identifying biomarkers, and developing targeted prevention and treatment strategies. The Gwangju Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias (GARD) cohort was established to address these needs through a multimodal approach.
METHODS
Participants aged ≥60 undergo comprehensive clinical evaluations, neuroimaging, and biospecimen collection for multi-omics analyses (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, microbiome) at baseline and systematic follow-up visits.
RESULTS
From over 17,000 screened individuals, 12,877 were enrolled. Baseline diagnoses include 5,995 cognitively unimpaired (CU), 4,025 mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 1,026 AD dementia. The resource includes MRI scans ( n =10,843) and extensive multi-omics data: genomic ( n =10,775), proteome ( n =116), and microbiome ( n =595).
DISCUSSION
The integrated GARD dataset provides a powerful and scalable resource for identifying novel biomarkers, understanding disease heterogeneity, and advancing precision medicine for AD.
