Ebetsu Active Future Study (EAFS): cognitive function and physical and mental health in elderly residents of Ebetsu City, Japan - cohort profile.

Authors

Hiroyo Kagami-Katsuyama, Naohito Ito, Makoto Hazama, Nobuyuki Toya, Takashi Wataya, Kouji Satoh, Namie Toda, Koki Kinoshita, Naoyuki Honma, Toshiya Nishibe, Hiroki Satoh, Kazuhiro Koshino, Seiji Saito, Fumio Chiba, Hiroki Hattori, Akihiko Ogata, Naoaki Tanaka, Mari Maeda-Yamamoto, Hiromi Kimoto, Mijin Kim, Miyuki Kumano-Kuramochi, Toshiro Kobori, Tsukasa Takeuchi, Yoshihiro Inoue, Shin Nakamura, Yoshihiro Minai, Satoshi Yomota, Sadanori Sekiya, Naoki Kaneko, Mikihiro Yamanaka, Tairo Ogura, Jun Nishihira

Published in

BMJ open. Volume 16. Issue 9. Pages e118786. Sep 09, 2026. Epub Sep 09, 2026.

Abstract

Ebetsu Active Future Study (EAFS) conducts comprehensive annual surveys of individuals who are independent in activities of daily living (ADLs) to track age-related physical and mental changes. These surveys include a variety of assessments such as cognitive function tests, physical function tests, blood tests, self-administered questionnaires about lifestyle and health, and interviews regarding medical and family history. In addition, serum, plasma and DNA samples from these assessments are stored at -80°C to facilitate future analyses and accommodate the potential addition of new measurement items. The purposes of this study are: (1) to identify potential blood-based biomarkers applicable to the detection of various types of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), (2) to explore diet-based strategies for preventing MCI and the progression of dementia, (3) to examine the relationship between urban characteristics, individual attributes and healthy life expectancy in Ebetsu City and (4) to return the research findings to the city.
From August to October 2023, EAFS invited Ebetsu residents to participate in the study. As a result, 1340 individuals applied and 1189 residents aged between 55 and 75 years who were independent in ADLs participated in the baseline survey for the first year.
EAFS initiated a follow-up of 1189 participants (38.9% male; 64.5±5.6 years) in the baseline year of 2023 and maintained a high follow-up rate of 98.5% by wave 3 (2025). The Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Japanese demonstrated that 53.6% of the participants had operational MCI. The proportion of participants with operational MCI increased with ageing. Regarding the APOE4 gene, which is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease, 1.2% of the total population were homozygous carriers and 22.1% were heterozygous carriers.
EAFS will conduct annual follow-up surveys until 2032. In addition to analysing data for each objective, we also plan to perform further analysis of the stored specimens.

PMID:
42716687
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 10 Sep 2026.

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