%A Ourry,Valentin %A Marchant,Natalie L. %A Schild,Ann-Katrin %A Coll-Padros,Nina %A Klimecki,Olga M. %A Krolak-Salmon,Pierre %A Goldet,Karine %A Reyrolle,Leslie %A Bachelet,Romain %A Sannemann,Lena %A Meiberth,Dix %A Demnitz-King,Harriet %A Whitfield,Tim %A Botton,Maëlle %A Lebahar,Julie %A Gonneaud,Julie %A de Flores,Robin %A Molinuevo,José Luis %A Jessen,Frank %A Vivien,Denis %A de la Sayette,Vincent %A Valenzuela,Michael J. %A Rauchs,Géraldine %A Wirth,Miranka %A Chételat,Gaël %A Arenaza-Urquijo,Eider M. %A ,The Medit-Ageing Research Group %D 2021 %J Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience %C %F %G English %K Cognitive Reserve,Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire,Life-course,older adults,harmonization,cross-cultural validation %Q %R 10.3389/fnagi.2021.740005 %W %L %M %P %7 %8 2021-October-14 %9 Original Research %# %! Lifetime Experiences Questionnaire across countries %* %< %T Harmonisation and Between-Country Differences of the Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire in Older Adults %U https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2021.740005 %V 13 %0 JOURNAL ARTICLE %@ 1663-4365 %X Background: The Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire (LEQ) assesses complex mental activity across the life-course and has been associated with brain and cognitive health. The different education systems and occupation classifications across countries represent a challenge for international comparisons. The objectives of this study were four-fold: to adapt and harmonise the LEQ across four European countries, assess its validity across countries, explore its association with brain and cognition and begin to investigate between-country differences in life-course mental activities.Method: The LEQ was administered to 359 cognitively unimpaired older adults (mean age and education: 71.2, 13.2 years) from IMAP and EU-funded Medit-Ageing projects. Education systems, classification of occupations and scoring guidelines were adapted to allow comparisons between France, Germany, Spain and United Kingdom. We assessed the LEQ's (i) concurrent validity with a similar instrument (cognitive activities questionnaire - CAQ) and its structural validity by testing the factors' structure across countries, (ii) we investigated its association with cognition and neuroimaging, and (iii) compared its scores between countries.Results: The LEQ showed moderate to strong positive associations with the CAQ and revealed a stable multidimensional structure across countries that was similar to the original LEQ. The LEQ was positively associated with global cognition. Between-country differences were observed in leisure activities across the life-course.Conclusions: The LEQ is a promising tool for assessing the multidimensional construct of cognitive reserve and can be used to measure socio-behavioural determinants of cognitive reserve in older adults across countries. Longitudinal studies are warranted to test further its clinical utility.