Technologies for Aging Health - Digital Approaches (TAH-DA)

The project is designed to (i) Identify behavioral and biometric predictors of cognitive decline (Aim 1: Characterization) and (ii) Assess impact of digital interventions on cognitive trajectory (Aim 2: Intervention). We will collect data from 1000 adults 40-89 years of age in the United States: distributed as 200 people for each of 5 decades of life: ages 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 79-79, 80-89. This will be a fully remote research study. Participants will be given a smartwatch for continuous tracking information (e.g., heartrate, actigraphy, etc.) during both day and at night while they sleep. Participants will also be given a tablet and instructed to complete our custom cognitive digital assessments and surveys at 3 time-points (pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 9-month follow-up). Each participant will be randomized to either the intervention group or control group. The intervention phase will require participants to play custom apps on the tablet for 30 minutes per day, 3 times per week, for 2 months. In the two months prior to the 9-month follow-up, participants will be given a booster session where they will engage in the intervention once a week for 30 minutes. We expect the results from the cognitive assessments at baseline (pre-intervention) will characterize typical age-related declines in cognition, which may be related to smartwatch biometrics (Aim 1). Furthermore, we expect measures of cognitive function to improve post-intervention in the experimental group, which concomitant changes in the smartwatch biometrics (Aim 2).