Sydney Older Persons Study (SOPS)

This study was conceived in 1988 as the Sydney Older Veterans Health and Services Project to investigate the health of community dwelling veterans of World War II and commenced in 1991, when non-veteran members of the community were included as well. Under the direction of CERA's former Director, Professor Tony Broe, SOPS has surveyed the same group of older people for over 10 years, regularly testing their mental and physical function. When participants were originally recruited they were aged 75 years and older. These remarkable people now have an average age of 89, with 15 participants over 100 years old.

The invaluable information gained from studying this group of people has been published in a number of journal articles and book chapters (see below).

The key researchers, Professor Tony Broe, Dr Olivier Piguet, and Professor Glenda Halliday are from the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute (POWMRI). Full details about the study can be found on the POWMRI web site, link here

Collaborators from CERA are Dr Helen Creasey and Dr Louise Waite.

Synopsis

A synopsis of the SOPS can be found on the NSW South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service web site, link here

Publications

Recent publications base on the SOPS are listed below:

• Cognitive, Extrapyramidal, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Predictors of Functional Impairment in Nondemented Older Community Dwellers: The Sydney Older Person Study. Bennett, Hayley P., Piguet, Olivier, Grayson, David A., Creasey, Helen, Waite, Louise M., Lye, Tanya, Corbett, Alastair J., Hayes, Michael, Broe, G. Anthony, Halliday, Glenda M. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Volume 54, Number 1, January 2006 , pp. 3-10(8).
  To view the abstract for this paper, link here


• Comparing white matter lesions on T2 and FLAIR MRI in the Sydney Older Persons Study. Piguet O., Ridley L. J., Grayson D. A., Bennett H. P., Creasey H., Lye T. C, Anthony Broe G. European Journal of Neurology, Volume 12, Number 5, May 2005 , pp. 399-402(4).
  To view the abstract for this paper, link here


• Histocompatibility antigens, aspirin use and cognitive performance in non-demented elderly subjects. Shepherd CE, Piguet O, Broe GA, Creasey H, Waite LM, Brooks WS, Kril JJ. J Neuroimmunol. 2004 Mar;148(1-2):178-82.
  To view the abstract for this paper, link here


• A 6-year study of cognition and spatial function in the demented and non-demented elderly: the Sydney Older Persons Study. Bennett HP, Piguet O, Grayson DA, Creasey H, Waite LM, Broe GA, Halliday GM. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2003;16(4):181-6.
  To view the abstract for this paper, link here


• Laboratory results in the elderly: the Sydney Older Persons Study. Janu M.R., Creasey H., Grayson D.A., Cullen J.S., Whyte S., Brooks W.S., Waite L.M., Broe G.A., Annals of Clinical Biochemistry, Volume 40, Number 3, 1 May 2003 , pp. 274-279(6)
  To view the abstract for this paper, link here