The MET-FINGER study aims to prevent cognitive decline among older adults through multifactorial lifestyle intervention. The study is based on the results of the FINGER study conducted in Finland, in which a multifactorial two-year lifestyle program improved the cognition and health of the older adults.
The MET-FINGER study will include older people who have an increased risk of developing dementia. The participants take parti in structured or self-motivated lifestyle intervention for two years. In addition to lifestyle guidance, some of the participants will be given metformin medication. The study assesses the effect of a guided lifestyle program on changes in cognition. The study also examines changes in different cognitive domains, functional capacity and risk factors for dementia.
The study provides extensive information on the cognition, health, functional capacity, lifestyles and well-being of the older adults, as well as the opportunities to influence them. The first results will be reported during 2028. The study is part of the World-Wide FINGERS network.
Goals
MET-FINGER is a multinational study that aims to investigate the effects of multifactorial lifestyle intervention and the combination of lifestyle intervention and metformin on cognition in older adults in a two-year study.
The study will also be used to investigate factors related to ageing, dementia, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, as well as the impact of lifestyle and metformin interventions on them.
Implementation
A total of 600 participants will be recruited for the study in Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The study participants are 60–79 years old at the time of the start of the study and they have some risk factors for dementia, but no significant cognitive impairment (at least half have an increased genetic risk). In Finland, sample donors from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) Biobank and Helsinki Biobank have been invited to participate in the study. 200 people will be included in the study in Finland.
Participants will be randomized to a structured or self-guided two-year lifestyle intervention program. The structured lifestyle programme consists of individual and group meetings that include dietary advice, exercise training, cognitive training and guidance to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The program is based on the lifestyle program found to be effective in the FINGER study, to which the drug metformin has been added in this study. Participants who are eligible for the drug will be randomized to receive either 2000 mg or 1000 mg of metformin daily or placebo.
All participants will undergo extensive neuropsychological testing and measurements of physical functioning. In addition, blood samples will be taken, and extensive information will be collected through interviews and questionnaires on the participants' health, lifestyles and functional capacity. In addition, some of the participants undergo brain imaging.
Funding
Main funder: Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation -säätiö.
Other funders: Päivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation, Sigrid Jusélius Foundation.
The investigational drug is provided by Merck pharmaceutical company, which has no other role in conducting the study.
Partners
Recruiting partners:
- FINGERS Brain Health Institute, Sweden
- Imperial College London (ICL), United Kingdom
- Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden
Other partners:
- University of Eastern Finland
- Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
- University of Umeå, Sweden
Contact details
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