SEX, GENDER, AND COMPASS-ND

The Comprehensive Assessment of Neurodegeneration and Dementia (COMPASS-ND) study is the signature observational cohort study of CCNA. The study aims to develop our understanding of older individuals with complex cognitive decline and dementia and to represent experiences across the dementia spectrum. Approximately 1,200 adults between 50 and 90 years of age who are living with, or are at risk of developing, dementia have participated in the study across Canada.

You can read more about the study goals, participant groups, and publications on the CCNA webpage: https://ccna-ccnv.ca/compass-nd-study/.

COMPASS-ND also captures important sex- and gender-related variables. Numbers of males and females in each cognitive grouping are being equalized. Research questions investigating sex, gender, aging, and dementia may benefit from considering specific variables and questionnaires available in the COMPASS-ND dataset. The following examples have been selected to demonstrate the variety and broad influence that sex and gender may have on lifestyle and behaviour in this population.

  • Sex assigned at birth

  • Handedness

  • Reproductive history

  • Marital status

  • Current living circumstance

  • Hobbies and leisure activities

  • Social Network

  • MOS Social Support Survey

  • Social Norms Questionnaire

  • Interpersonal Reactivity Index

  • Caregiving Assessment

  • Neuropsychological tasks of memory and verbal fluency (e.g., logical memory, vocabulary, digit span)

  • Neuroimaging

  • And more!

In addition to the thorough neuropsychological testing and brain imaging, the following hormone analyses are available in the COMPASS-ND dataset:

  • Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)  

  • Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) 

  • Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) sulfate     

  • Estradiol   

  • Luteinizing hormone (LH)      

  • Progesterone 

  • Prolactin   

  • Testosterone bioavailable     

  • Testosterone free 

  • DHT        

  • Estrone

  • Testosterone Total 

Testosterone Molecule

Examples of COMPASS-ND publications investigating sex and gender:

Kapustin D, Tumati S, Wong M, Herrmann N, Dixon RA, Seitz D, Rapoport MJ, Lanctôt KL. Sex-specific neuropsychological correlates of apathy and depression across neurodegenerative disorders. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2024 Mar;39(3):e6080. doi: 10.1002/gps.6080.

Al-Yawer F, Pichora-Fuller MK, Wittich W, Mick P, Giroud N, Rehan S, Phillips NA. Sex-Specific Interactions Between Hearing and Memory in Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment: Findings From the COMPASS-ND Study. Ear Hear. 2023 Jul-Aug 01;44(4):751-767. doi: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000001322. Epub 2022 Dec 29.

Guan, D.X., Rockwood, K., Smith, E.E. et al. Sex Moderates the Association between Frailty and Mild Behavioral Impairment. J Prev Alzheimers Dis 9, 692–700 (2022). doi: https://doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2022.61.

Gosselin P, Guan DX, Chen HY, Pichora-Fuller MK, Phillips N, Faris P, Smith EE, Ismail Z. The Relationship Between Hearing and Mild Behavioral Impairment and the Influence of Sex: A Study of Older Adults Without Dementia from the COMPASS-ND Study. J Alzheimers Dis Rep. 2022 Feb 18;6(1):57-66. doi: 10.3233/ADR-210045.

Laura K Fitzgibbon-Collins, Geoff B Coombs, Mamiko Noguchi, Shashankdhwaj Parihar, Richard L Hughson, Michael Borrie, Sue Peters, J Kevin Shoemaker, Jaspreet Bhangu. Standing middle cerebral artery velocity predicts cognitive function and gait speed in older adults with cognitive impairment, and is impacted by sex differences. Cerebral Circulation - Cognition and Behavior. 2024; 6:100198. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cccb.2023.100198.