In this ISLAND Newsletter

• Invitation - A Very Important Time for the ISLAND Project
• Invitation - chance to win a Coles Myer voucher
• Invitation - Tas Test will be back in October!
• Invitation - enroll in the Preventing Dementia MOOC
• Risk Factor - Air Pollution

Thanks for being involved in ISLAND and helping us reduce dementia risk in Tasmania. 

Its an important time of year in the ISLAND Project

Every October marks an important milestone for the ISLAND Project. It’s the time when we ask you to repeat the surveys that you complete when you first join our research program. These surveys cover your own personal risk, your knowledge of dementia, your mood and many other circumstances about your life and they are very important to us. 

The greatest single contribution you can make to ISLAND is to do your annual surveys every year. That’s so we can look at changes in your responses over time and compare them to your performance in our separate thinking and memory tests and blood donations (next blood donation planned for 2023). At the end of ISLAND, one thing we hope to show is that the people who made the most positive change relating to their personal risk have the least change in their cognitive performance and blood proteins. That would be a great outcome - but we won’t be able to do that without participants completing their October surveys each year. 

I'm Larissa Bartlett and on behalf of the entire ISLAND team I want to say thank you very much for completing your surveys for us. If you are a research participant, your link to your surveys will arrive in your inbox later in October. 

If you haven’t yet joined ISLAND, please log into your ISLAND Home page and follow instructions to complete your initial baseline surveys. 

We do appreciate everything you do for us in the ISLAND Project. Being part of our research involves sharing lots of information without getting a diagnosis or any personal feedback. This is very different to going to see a doctor – and taps into one of the key reasons for our research. The evidence isn’t yet available for doctors to be able to tell you with confidence how you can personally reduce your dementia risk, based on the things you do in daily life. By being part of ISLAND, you are helping us build this evidence. So please know that the information you provide by doing our surveys is incredibly valuable for informing future health policy and practice in relation to dementia prevention. 

If you need any help with your surveys, the project team will be happy to hear from you via email to island@dementia.utas.edu.au.

Chance to win a Coles Myer Voucher

As a way of saying thanks, we have five $100 Coles Myer vouchers to give away to five ISLAND participants who complete all their October 2022 surveys. Keep an eye on your mailbox for your link to do the surveys and complete them all before the closing date for your chance to win. 

Winners will be notified by email by end November 2022. 

Good luck!

Tas Test will be back in October!

Check your inbox for ‘TAS Test’ invites in October. TAS Test is a series of interactive online activities that measure your movement, memory and speech – all of which provide early clues of dementia. We’ve been hard at work updating and curating TAS Test version 2.0 and we think you’ll enjoy it! 

Next Preventing Dementia MOOC Starts in October

Our next Preventing Dementia MOOC starts in October, providing access to the latest evidence on dementia risk reduction. 

This free course provides an opportunity to engage with the perspectives of a global community, without requiting exams or assignments. You can enrol today through your ISLAND Home portal. 

Risk Factor - Air Pollution

Air pollution has been found to increase the risk of several health conditions, including heart disease and cancer, as well as dementia. Air pollution was added to the list of risk factors for dementia in the 2020 Lancet Commission Report by Livingston et al. Some of the air pollutants found to contribute to increased risk include particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide, from sources such as traffic exhaust and residential wood burning.

Unlike other risk factors, for example diet and physical activity, individuals have less personal control over exposure to air pollution and the risk it might pose. Reducing air pollution and improving air quality are largely seen as the responsibility of governments and industry.

There are, however, still some ways that we can reduce exposure to air pollution at the individual level and potentially modify the health impacts. These can include staying indoors and avoiding outdoor activity when pollution levels are higher, reducing exposure to areas with elevated levels of air pollution, such as busy roads, and using air cleaning systems for indoor environments. You can find out more in this article by Laumbach, Meng and Kipen (2015) – What can individuals do to reduce personal health risks from air pollution? - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4311076/

For more information on modifiable risk factors for dementia, enrol now in the Preventing Dementia MOOC.

The University of Tasmania received funding from the Australian Government. Views and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of its authors, and may not be the same as those held by the Department of Health.

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