STROKOG
Consortium of post-stroke/TIA or high vascular risk studies from around the world. Originally established in 2016, it was the first international effort to harmonise work on post-stroke dementia.
About STROKOG
STROKOG is a consortium of post-stroke/TIA or high vascular risk studies from around the world. STROKOG aims to harmonise data across our international member studies; to conduct joint analyses that explore questions in relation to vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID), which represent a major health care burden on our society with projections to grow in the future.
STROKOG aims to increase awareness of cognitive deficits in relation to stroke and other cerebrovascular disease. We anticipate that the findings of STROKOG will help guide and optimize preventative strategies and health policy, both in Australia and internationally.
The consortium is expanding from 2022 to include, in addition to studies with stroke/TIA patients, studies with high vascular risk patients or intervention studies that aim to reduce the impact of cerebrovascular disease.
Please see below for:
- Membership criteria
- Research studies
- Research propssals
STROKOG currently includes 43 studies from 21 countries and 5 continents. We encourage qualified researchers to propose research projects using STROKOG data. Please refer to the research proposals below for more information.
CHeBA Consortia
Consortium
- Membership criteria
- STROKOG Scientific Steering Committee
- Studies
- Publications
- Projects
- Research proposals
- Funding
Membership criteria
The membership criteria for STROKOG have been revised in 2023. Studies with the following features are invited to participate:
- Studies of stroke, TIA, or high vascular risk patients with cognitive decline or impairment as primary or secondary outcomes (i.e., cognitive assessments were conducted, even if brief); or
- Intervention studies with the objective of reducing the impact of CVD, with cognition as primary or secondary outcome.
Membership will be officially ratified by study leaders signing a memorandum of understanding that entails willingness to:
- Willing to share data (on a per-project basis) at either the level of individuals or in summary form, and/or provide the results of in-house analyses performed using STROKOG protocols (although members are not obliged to share data until they are ready),
- Willing to share images with collaborators, within legislative and ethical constraints of the study,
- Willing to contribute intellectually to meet the objectives of STROKOG,
- Committed to the ethical principles of the consortium, and
- Willing to contribute to the training and mentorship of junior researcher within their own groups or in STROKOG generally.
- The willingness to share biospecimens collected by the studies for research purposes is an option that may be considered.
Interested parties please contact the STROKOG Coordinator about joining STROKOG.
Jessica Lo | jessica.lo@unsw.edu.au.
STROKOG Scientific Steering Committee
The STROKOG Scientific Steering Committee is formed to lead the scientific agenda of the consortium and provide ongoing support and governance. It comprises of one representative from each of the contributing studies, generally the lead investigator or a delegate.
Member studies
Member in negotiation
Methodology paper
Sachdev PS, Lo JW, Crawford JD, et al. STROKOG (Stroke and Cognition consortium): An international consortium to examine the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of neurocognitive disorders in relation to cerebrovascular disease. Alzheimer's & Dementia : Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring. 2017;7:11-23. doi:10.1016/j.dadm.2016.10.006.
Research Papers
- Lo JW, Crawford JD, Desmond DW, et al. Profile of and risk factors for poststroke cognitive impairment in diverse ethnoregional groups. Neurology. 2019;93(24):e2257-e2271.
- Lo JW, Crawford JD, Samaras K, et al. Association of Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes With Cognitive Function After Stroke: A STROKOG Collaboration Study. Stroke. 2020;51(6):1640-1646.
- Tang EYH, Price CI, Robinson L, et al. Assessing the Predictive Validity of Simple Dementia Risk Models in Harmonized Stroke Cohorts. Stroke. 2020;51(7):2095-2102.
- Lo JW, Crawford JD, Desmond DW, et al. Long-Term Cognitive Decline After Stroke: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis. Stroke. 2022;53(4):1318-1327.
- Betrouni N, Jiang J, Duering M, et al. Texture features of MR images predict post-stroke cognitive impairment: validation in a multi-center study. Stroke. 2022;53:3446–3454
- Lo JW, Crawford JD, Desmond DW, et al. Short-term Trajectories of Poststroke Cognitive Function: A STROKOG Collaboration Study. Neurology. 2023;100(23):e2331-e2341.
- Oestreich LKL, Lo JW, Di Biase MA, Sachdev PS, et al. Network analysis of neuropsychiatric, cognitive, and functional complications of stroke: implications for novel treatment targets. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2023 Dec 19. doi: 10.1111/pcn.13633.
- Ruthmann F, Lo JW, Mendyk-Bordet AM, et al. Prevalence of poststroke anxiety and its associations with global cognitive impairment: an individual participant data analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2025; 369:1136-44.
List of STROKOG projects
Updated January 2025
| Project Title | Lead Investigator (Affiliation) |
| Domain-specific cognitive impairments and depression as determinants of post-stroke functional disability | Hanna Jokinen (Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki) |
| Risk factors for post-stroke depression | Ben Lam (CHeBA, UNSW) |
| Post-stroke neuropsychiatric symptoms: apathy and psychosis | Michael Connors (CHeBA, UNSW) |
| Trajectory of post-stroke depression | Lena Oestreich (University of Queensland) |
| A simple risk model for the prediction of post-stroke dementia | Jess Lo (CHeBA, UNSW) |
| Structural and functional brain disconnections associated with psychiatric complications in stroke survivors | Lena Oestreich (University of Queensland) |
Research proposal
STROKOG welcomes research proposals from member studies and from other researchers wishing to utilise the wealth and diversity of data held by the STROKOG cohorts. All proposals will be reviewed by the STROKOG Scientific Steering Committee. Interested researchers should contact the STROKOG Coordinator, Jess Lo, to have a preliminary discussion about the project.
Note that STROKOG member studies are not committed to provide data and they may choose to participate on a project-by-project basis. It is a requirement to include the study leader (and up to 2 study members) of the study cohort as co-authors of a publication that resulted from having included the dataset in the project.
Please also note that local IRB ethics is required and proposals from investigators who are not part of STROKOG require sponsorship or endorsement by a lead investigator of a STROKOG member study. Details of all STROKOG member studies and names of lead investigators can be found on this website. It may be appropriate to seek sponsorship from the leader of a study that has investigated similar issues or holds particularly relevant data.
On the right is a flow chart which describes the process to accessing STROKOG data for a research project.
Funding Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the following funding bodies:
- Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (VFFF) (2016-2021)
- NHMRC Project Grant (2019-2021; APP1161858)
- NHMRC Centres of Research Excellence (2021-2026; RG203943)
- NHMRC Centres of Research Excellence (2021 – 2026; ID2006765)
Contacts
Perminder Sachdev: p.sachdev@unsw.edu.au
Co-Director, CHeBA (Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing)
UNSW Medicine
Jessica Lo: jessica.lo@unsw.edu.au
Postdoc Fellow, CHeBA (Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing)
UNSW Medicine