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| 1. Introduction of the NDDRF 2.0 Knowledgebase | |||||||||||||||||
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Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) are a series of chronic diseases caused by the degeneration of brain neurons, characterized by irreversible pathological processes. Integration of research on risk factors will facilitate a systematic understanding of the heterogeneity of complex NDDs. Originally constructed in 2021, the NDDRF (a knowledge base of risk factors for NDDs) was the first knowledge base to consolidate biochemical, epidemiological, genetic, and combination risk factors associated with NDDs. Effective prevention of NDDs through lifestyle modifications plays a crucial role in proactive health management. NDDRF 2.0 aimed to expand the knowledge base by incorporating modifiable lifestyle-related risk factors and enhancing its utility for NDD risk assessment, promoting proactive health management and contributing to NDDs prevention. In the risk factor update section, data from the past four years were comprehensively updated, including the addition of SNP identifiers to the genetic factors. In the lifestyle factor expansion section, lifestyle factors were manually collected and filtered using novel literature retrieval methods spanning publications from January 1975 to September 2024. To ensure precision and relevance, each factor in both sections was embedded with ICD codes and clinical stage annotations, and then re-standardized, classified, and annotated in accordance with UMLS Semantic Network and ICD-11 guidelines, following consultations with clinicians. The updated NDDRF 2.0 knowledge base now encompasses 1971 risk factors classified under 151 subcategories across 20 NDDs, amounting to 4379 records with references from 1741 research articles. Among these, 536 lifestyle-related risk factors covering six major categories—diet, psychology, education, hobbies, physical activity, and physical fitness—with over sixty subcategories. NDDRF 2.0 offers structured and deep phenotypes information that integrates modifiable lifestyle factors with other risk categories to support targeted NDDs prevention. As the first lifestyle-specific and holistic knowledge base for NDDs, it presents a knowledge-driven resource that facilitates personalized risk assessment, proactive health management, and assisting clinicians in making decisions for patient healthcare. This knowledge base will be curated and updated for the systematic understanding and future prevention of NDDs. | |||||||||||||||||
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| 2. How to search | |||||||||||||||||
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Click on the image or link of the risk factor on the homepage to view the classification table corresponding to the risk factor, which can help users understand the content of NDDRF. Furthermore, users can click on the category link in the table to query the detailed information of the risk factor of that category in the database.
The search function includes both basic and advanced searches. The basic search facility mainly allows ‘fuzzy’ queries and is most suitable for direct queries of risk factor names. When users enter the keywords of a risk factor in the search box, we have added a keyword association function that will display a list of the top ten related suggestions for the keywords below the search box, which will greatly help users to search for risk factors. After the keyword is selected, clicking the search button will take the user to the page that displays all the search results, which shows basic information (ID, disease name, species, name, association, condition and PMID) for the risk factors searched by the keywords. Users can click on the item they want to view to see the details of the risk factor. Detailed information of risk factors, including risk factor information, reference information and experimental information, is presented in tables and all the results of the data collection are displayed in this module. If users want to know more about this risk factor, they can click on the PMID in the reference, and we have provided a hyperlink so that users can view the original article. The advanced search facility allows combined searches. On this page, we have provided a variety of drop-down lists for different types of queries based on different catetories of risk factor(includes epidemiological factors, genetic factors and lifestyle factors): phase category drop-down list (includes diagnosis, prognosis and treatment), association drop-down list (includes risk factors, protective factors and not related factors), disease name drop-down list (includes the 20 types of NDDs recorded in the NDDRF 2.0), species drop-down list (human and animal) and literature year (from 1984 to 2024), group drop-down list (includes the different countries, regions and ethnic groups recorded in the NDDRF), class drop-down list (different classes are included according to different risk factor categories). Users can thus search terms individually or in combination, according to their needs. |
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3. The newly incorporated fields in NDDRF 2.0 |
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Attributes |
Description |
Phase |
RDiagnosis, Prognosis and Treatment, based on their clinical applications |
ICD |
ICD 11 code |
Quantity |
Quantitative metrics for risk factors (categorized and presented when multiple entries are available) |
Effect size |
OR, aOR, HR, aHR, RR, IRR (95% confidence interval) |
First-Class |
First class of risk factor |
Second-Class |
Second class of risk factor |
Third-Class |
Third class of risk factor |
Fourth-Class |
Fourth class of risk factor |
