The Cognitive Fitness in Ageing (COFITAGE) dataset was designed to support systematic investigation of early and progressive changes associated with brain aging. The study integrates multimodal neuroimaging, genetics, sleep, and neuropsychological phenotyping with baseline and 2-year follow-up assessments. The focus is the 50–70 years age range, a transitional period when subtle molecular, inflammatory, structural, sleep, and cognitive changes may precede detectable clinical neurodegenerative disease.
The baseline cohort comprises 101 community-dwelling participants aged 50 to 69 years. All participants underwent a standardized imaging and phenotyping protocol. A subset of the cohort returned for a 2-year cognitive follow-up; 66 participants completed that longitudinal cognitive assessment, allowing evaluation of cognitive trajectories over time.
Magnetic resonance imaging was performed at 3T using a protocol that included high-resolution structural imaging (T1- and T2-weighted sequences). The acquisition also incorporated quantitative multi-parametric scans with B1 mapping and multi-shell diffusion-weighted imaging. These multimodal MRI data permit derivation and comparison of (semi)quantitative MRI parameters across participants and time points.
All participants underwent positron emission tomography (PET) imaging for amyloid-beta using either [18F]Flutemetamol or [18F]Florbetapir. A subset of participants additionally received [18F]THK-5351 PET imaging, which the authors describe as assessing tau-related signal and/or neuroinflammation. The combined PET/MRI data enable multimodal cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of molecular and structural markers relevant to early brain aging.
The imaging data are complemented by extensive phenotypic information. This includes sleep assessments and a detailed neuropsychological battery to characterize cognitive function. Genotype data were obtained via genetic analysis to support studies linking imaging and cognitive phenotypes with genetic variation. These combined data allow exploration of interactions among sleep physiology, cognition, molecular imaging, and genetics in mid-to-late adulthood.
Sixty-six participants completed a 2-year cognitive follow-up, enabling longitudinal analyses of cognitive change. The dataset therefore supports studies of early cognitive decline, the identification of imaging biomarkers associated with cognitive trajectories, and the modeling of progression in brain aging within this underrepresented age band.
Data acquisition and curation were executed using standardized procedures with systematic quality control measures to ensure reliability for cross-sectional and longitudinal research. All data are distributed in a BIDS-compliant format and released in open access on EBRAINS, facilitating reuse and interoperability with existing neuroimaging pipelines and datasets.
COFITAGE supports a range of multimodal research applications. Example uses identified by the authors include:
The dataset’s focus on adults aged 50–70 addresses a gap in public datasets that often underrepresent this transitional age range.
The authors declared no competing interests. Funding sources reported include FRS-FNRS (Belgium), Actions de Recherche Concertees of the Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles (Belgium), University of Liège, Fondation Simone et Pierre Clerdent (Belgium), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, Radiomed Project), and GE Healthcare Ltd. The dataset is made available under an open-access license via EBRAINS. Specific procedural details of data acquisition, preprocessing, and the subset selection for additional PET tracers are described in the source; if further methodological specifics are required, those should be consulted directly in the original preprint.