Michael Robbins

Research Interests

My research interests are to investigate biological, psychological and social correlates of cognitive aging. Since 1981 my major research activity has involved collaboration with Merrill F. Elias on the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study (MSLS). Beginning at Syracuse University in 1975 and moving to the University of Maine in 1977, the MSLS has continued uninterrupted for more than 33 years thanks to support from the National Institute on Aging (NIH) and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NIH). This community-based study offers students and faculty opportunities for archival data analysis focusing on relations among newly recognized and traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease and cognitive performance across the adult lifespan. Some examples of variables in the data base are as follows: blood pressure, diabetes, blood glucose levels, adiposity, depression, anxiety, stroke, cardiovascular disease, homocysteine, lipids, ApoE e4, arterial stiffness (indexed by pulse wave velocity), smoking, alcohol consumption, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, folate, functional disability, activities of daily living, stroke and dementia history. The MSLS offers longitudinal and cross-sectional data on these risk factors and an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests. Among our collaborators are faculty at the University of Maine, Boston University, the University of Virginia, the University of Southern California, Oxford University (UK), the University or Birmingham (UK) and Australian National University.

Selected Publications

  • Dearborn PJ, Elias MF, Sullivan KJ, Sullivan CE, Robbins MA.  (in press). Poorer visual acuity is associated with declines in cognitive performance across multiple cognitive domains: The Maine Syracuse Study. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.
  • Haigh EAP, Bogucki OE, Dearborn PJ, Robbins MA, Elias MF. (2018). Depressive symptoms progressively predict cardiovascular disease among older adults: Findings from the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study. Journal of Health Psychology, doi10:1177/1359105318782375.
  • Dearborn PJ, Robbins MA, Elias MF. (2018). Challenging the “jolly fat” hypothesis among older adults: High body mass index predicts increases in depressive symptoms over a 5-year period. Journal of Health Psychology, 23, 48-58. doi10:1177/1359105316675209
  • Dore GA., Elias MF, Crichton GE, Robbins MA. (2017). Age modifies the relation between intraindividual measurement-to-measurement variation in blood pressure and cognitive function: the Maine-Syracuse Study. Journal of Hypertension, 35. doi: 10.1097/HJH.000000000000151
  • Elias MF, Crichton GE, Dearborn PJ, Robbins MA, Abhayaratna WP (2017). Associations between type 2 diabetes mellitus and arterial stiffness: A prospective analysis based on the Maine-Syracuse Study. Pulse, 5, 88-98. doi: 10.1159/000479560
  • Crichton GE, Elias MF, Dearborn PJ, Robbins MA. (2017). Habitual chocolate intake and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study: (1975-2010): Prospective observations. Appetite, 108, 263-269.