Why do some people develop mental health problems during their lifetime whereas others do not? Why do some people experience accelerated cognitive ageing whereas others do not? The epidemiology research group is dedicated to answering these questions.
Our main risk factors of interest are individual differences in i) metabolism and ii) cognitive reserve, and we use data from a number of observational cohort studies from surgical samples and general population samples.
Overarching goal is to better characterize mental health and cognitive outcomes and flag up any potential pathways for prevention.
Location: University of Potsdam,
Am Mühlenberg 9,
Building 62 (H-Lab),
14476 Potsdam – Golm
EEndothelial basis of postoperative cognitive impairment in older people (EndOPCog)
Funding: DFG
Collaboration with MDC Berlin, Charité Berlin, UMC Utrecht, University of Luxembourg, CNR Italy, University of Cambridge, and others
Duration: 2020–2021
Development of biomarkers for postoperative cognitive impairment in older people (BioCog)
Funding: European Commission, 7th Framework Program
Collaboration with MDC Berlin, Charité Berlin, UMC Utrecht, University of Luxembourg, CNR Italy, University of Cambridge, and others
Duration: 2014–2017
Mörgeli R, Borchers F, Feinkohl I, Piper SK, Pischon T, Slooter AJC, Spies C, Wiebach J, Winterer G, Zacharias N, Lammers-Lietz F. Eine Sekundäranalyse der kortikalen Atrophie und der Plasma-Amyloid-β-Muster bei älteren Patienten mit kognitiver Gebrechlichkeit, die sich einer elektiven Operation unterziehen. BMC Geriatr. 2. Juli 2025; 25(1):484. doi: 10.1186/s12877-025-05740-z.
Moazzen S, Janke J, Slooter AJC, Winterer G, Spies C, Pischon T, Feinkohl I. Der Zusammenhang zwischen präoperativen Biomarkern für endotheliale Dysfunktion und dem Risiko für postoperative neurokognitive Störungen: Ergebnisse der BioCog-Studie. BMC Anesthesiol. 8. Oktober 2024; 24(1):358.
Wattenbach C, Ellrichmann G, Feinkohl I, Voß S, Brinks R. Inzidenz der Parkinson-Krankheit in Deutschland basierend auf Prävalenzdaten von 70 Millionen Patienten der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung. BMC Neurol. 27. Juni 2024; 24(1):221.
Feinkohl I, Janke J, Slooter AJC, Winterer G, Spies C, Pischon T. Der Zusammenhang zwischen Plasma-Leptin, löslichem Leptinrezeptor und Gesamt- und hochmolekularem Adiponektin mit dem Risiko perioperativer neurokognitiver Störungen. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. September 2024; 32(9):1119-1129.
Fislage M, Winzeck S, Woodrow R, Lammers-Lietz F, Stamatakis EA, Correia MM, Preller J, Feinkohl I, Hendrikse J, Pischon T, Spies CD, Slooter AJC, Winterer G, Menon DK, Zacharias N; BioCog Consortium. Structural disconnectivity in postoperative delirium: A perioperative two-center cohort study in older patients. Alzheimers Dement. 2024 Apr;20(4):2861-2872.
Borchers F, Rumpel M, Laubrock J, Spies C, Kozma P, Slooter A, van Montfort SJT, Piper SK, Wiebach J, Winterer G, Pischon T, Feinkohl I. Cognitive reserve and the risk of postoperative neurocognitive disorders in older age. Front Aging Neurosci. 2024 Feb 5;15:1327388
Fislage M, Zacharias N, Feinkohl I. The Thalamus in Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders. Neuropsychol Rev. 2023 Sep 22
Fislage M, Feinkohl I, Borchers F, Pischon T, Spies CD, Winterer G, Zacharias N; BioCog Consortium. Preoperative thalamus volume is not associated with preoperative cognitive impairment (preCI) or postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Sci Rep. 2023;13(1):11732.
Feinkohl I, Janke J, Slooter AJC, Winterer G, Spies C, Pischon T; BioCog Consortium. Metabolic syndrome and the risk of postoperative delirium and postoperative cognitive dysfunction: a multi-centre cohort study. Br J Anaesth. 2023;131(2):338-347.
Fislage M, Winzeck S, Stamatakis E, Correia MM, Preller J, Feinkohl I, Spies CD, Hendrikse J, J C Slooter A, Winterer G, Pischon T, Menon DK, Zacharias N; BioCog Consortium. Presurgical diffusion metrics of the thalamus and thalamic nuclei in postoperative delirium: A prospective two-centre cohort study in older patients. Neuroimage Clin. 2022;36:103208.
Fislage M, Feinkohl I, Pischon T, Spies CD, Borchers F, Winterer G, Zacharias N; BioCog Consortium. Presurgical Thalamus Volume in Postoperative Delirium: A Longitudinal Observational Cohort Study in Older Patients. Anesth Analg. 2022 Jul 1;135(1):136-142.
Feinkohl I. Post-Operative Cognitive Impairment: A Cognitive Epidemiology Perspective. J Intell. 2022 Mar 11;10(1):18.
Lammers-Lietz F, Akyuz L, Lachmann C, Pischon T, Volk HD, von Häfen C, Yürek F, Winterer G, Spies CD. Interleukin 8 in postoperative delirium – Preliminary findings from two studies. Brain Behav Immun Health. 2022;20:100419.
Feinkohl I*, Kozma P*, Borchers F, Montfort S, Kruppa J, Winterer G, Spies C, Pischon T. Contribution of IQ in young adulthood to the associations of education and occupation with cognitive ability in older age. BMC Geriatrics. 2021;5;21(1):346. *joint first
Lichtner G, Zacharias N, Spies CD, Feinkohl I, Winterer G, Pischon T, von Dincklage F. Resting state brain network functional connectivity is not associated with inflammatory markers and blood cell counts in older adults. Clinical Neurophysiology. 2021;132(7):1677-1686.
Borchers F, Spies CD, Feinkohl I, Brockhaus WR, Kraft A, Kozma P, Fislage M, Kühn S, Ionescu C, Speidel S, Hadzidiakos D, Veldhuijzen S, Yürek F, Evered LA, Ottens TH. Methodology for measuring postoperative cognitive dysfunction in prospective studies: a systematic review. British Journal of Anaesthesia. 2021;126(6):1119-1127.
Feinkohl I, Janke J, Slooter AJC, Winterer G, Spies C, Pischon T. Plasma leptin, but not adiponectin, is associated with cognitive impairment in older adults. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2020;120:104783.
Feinkohl I, Schipke CG, Kruppa J, Menne F, Winterer G, Pischon T, Peters O. Plasma Amyloid Concentration in Alzheimer’s Disease: Performance of a High-Throughput Amyloid Assay in Distinguishing Alzheimer’s Disease Cases from Controls. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2020;74(4):1285-1294.
Feinkohl I*, Borchers F*, Burkhardt S, Krampe H, Kraft A, Speidel S, Kant IMJ, van Montfort SJT, Aarts E, Kruppa J, Slooter A, Winterer G, Pischon T, Spies C. Stability of neuropsychological test performance in older adults serving as normative controls for a study on postoperative cognitive dysfunction. BMC Research Notes. 2020;13(1):55. *joint first
The research group Epidemiology develops teaching modules at the Faculty of Health Sciences for the master’s programs “Public Health, Exercise and Nutrition” and “Integrated Sports, Exercise and Health Sciences.”
In addition to the courses, the group regularly offers statistical consulting to students at the faculty.
