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Late Life Learning, Cognition, and Aging: A Longitudinal study of middle and older-aged adults in Beirut, Lebanon (3LC study)
Zeki Al Hazzouri, A.; Mehio Sibai, A.; Bassil, D. T.; Glymour, M. M.; Manly, J. J.; Abi Chahine, M.; Chehabeddine, L.; Bekdache et al.. medRxiv (preprint), 2026-09-15
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
BackgroundLebanon is undergoing substantial demographic and social change, with older adults comprising approximately 10% of the population. The Late Life Learning, Cognition, and Aging (3LC) study was established around the University for Seniors (UfS), a longstanding late-life learning program at the American University of Beirut. The cohort was designed to leverage variation in late-life learning exposure by including both UfS participants and community-dwelling adults without prior participation in the program. This provides a unique opportunity to investigate how late-life learning, lifecourse social and biological factors, and health behaviors relate to cognitive aging, dementia risk, mental health, and resilience in Lebanon. MethodsParticipants aged 50 years and older are recruited from the UfS program and the surrounding community in Lebanon. Baseline assessments include an interviewer-administered questionnaire, standardized anthropometric and sensory assessments, and blood collection for biomarker measurement and biobanking. The questionnaire captures health, psychosocial, cognitive, social engagement, and lifecourse factors, including exposure to war, conflict, and socioeconomic adversity. Longitudinal follow-up includes planned phone-based and in-person assessments at approximately two-year intervals. ResultsThe cohort comprised 1,871 participants, including 536 UfS participants (350 previously enrolled and 186 newly enrolled) and 1,335 community participants, of whom 1,041 were age-, sex-, and education-matched to UfS participants and 294 were additionally recruited without matching. The mean age was 65.6 years (SD=9.0), and 70.1% of participants were women. Blood samples were obtained from 1,541 participants (82.3%). ConclusionThe 3LC study provides a unique platform to examine how late-life learning and lifecourse factors shape cognitive aging, well-being, and dementia risk in Lebanon. By integrating social, psychosocial, health, and biological measures, the cohort offers opportunities to identify modifiable determinants of cognitive aging and inform dementia prevention in Lebanon and other under-resourced settings.
Key findings
- ResultsThe cohort comprised 1,871 participants, including 536 UfS participants (350 previously enrolled and 186 newly enrolled) and 1,335 community participants, of whom 1,041 were age-, sex-, and education-matched to UfS participants and 294 were additionally recruited without matching.
- The mean age was 65.6 years (SD=9.0), and 70.1% of participants were women.
- Blood samples were obtained from 1,541 participants (82.3%).
- ConclusionThe 3LC study provides a unique platform to examine how late-life learning and lifecourse factors shape cognitive aging, well-being, and dementia risk in Lebanon.
- By integrating social, psychosocial, health, and biological measures, the cohort offers opportunities to identify modifiable determinants of cognitive aging and inform dementia prevention in Lebanon and other under-resourced settings.
Why it matters
This study describes a new group of 1,871 people in Lebanon, including participants in a late-life learning program, who will be followed over time to study cognitive aging and dementia risk. No results on whether learning affects dementia risk are reported yet, because the study is still ongoing.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants1,871
- Effect size70.1%; 82.3%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 39 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on impact for its field and year, so that was left out: it earned 37 of the 94 points we could judge it on, which is 39 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (medRxiv (preprint)) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,871 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 0 / 7 | Cited 0 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.0 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026 |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Martine Elbejjani: h-index 16 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Columbia University: institution h-index 1,824 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 37 / 94 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 37 of the 94 points we could judge it on is 39 out of 100. |
| Total | 39 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Zeki Al Hazzouri, A., Mehio Sibai, A., Bassil, D. T., Glymour, M. M., Manly, J. J., Abi Chahine, M., et al. (2026). Late Life Learning, Cognition, and Aging: A Longitudinal study of middle and older-aged adults in Beirut, Lebanon (3LC study). medRxiv (preprint). https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.10.26362603
Vancouver
Zeki Al Hazzouri A, Mehio Sibai A, Bassil DT, Glymour MM, Manly JJ, Abi Chahine M, et al. Late Life Learning, Cognition, and Aging: A Longitudinal study of middle and older-aged adults in Beirut, Lebanon (3LC study). medRxiv (preprint). 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.09.10.26362603.
BibTeX
@article{zekialhazzouri2026-3687f28d,
author = {Zeki Al Hazzouri, A. and Mehio Sibai, A. and Bassil, D. T. and Glymour, M. M. and Manly, J. J. and Abi Chahine, M. and Chehabeddine, L. and Bekdache and others},
title = {{Late Life Learning, Cognition, and Aging: A Longitudinal study of middle and older-aged adults in Beirut, Lebanon (3LC study)}},
journal = {medRxiv (preprint)},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.10.26362603},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.10.26362603}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.