Background: Many members of Black American communities, faced with the high prevalence of Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) within their demographic, find themselves taking on the role of informal caregivers. Despite being the primary individuals responsible for the care of individuals with ADRD, these caregivers often lack sufficient knowledge about ADRD-related health literacy and feel ill-prepared for their caregiving responsibilities. Generative AI has become a new promising technological innovation in the health care domain, particularly for improving health literacy; however, some generative AI developments might lead to increased bias and potential harm toward Black American communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJMIR Form Res
December 2024
Background: Older African American and Black adults are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) and have the lowest level of ADRD health literacy compared to any other ethnic group in the United States. Low health literacy concerning ADRD negatively impacts African American and Black people in accessing adequate health care.
Objective: This study explored how 3 technological modalities-voice assistants, chatbots, and mobile apps-can assist older African American and Black adults in accessing ADRD information to improve ADRD health literacy.
Introduction: Despite a two-fold risk, individuals of African ancestry have been underrepresented in Alzheimer's disease (AD) genomics efforts.
Methods: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of 2,903 AD cases and 6,265 controls of African ancestry. Within-dataset results were meta-analyzed, followed by functional genomics analyses.
Importance: The utility of antihypertensives and ideal blood pressure (BP) for dementia prevention in late life remains unclear and highly contested.
Objectives: To assess the associations of hypertension history, antihypertensive use, and baseline measured BP in late life (age >60 years) with dementia and the moderating factors of age, sex, and racial group.
Data Source And Study Selection: Longitudinal, population-based studies of aging participating in the Cohort Studies of Memory in an International Consortium (COSMIC) group were included.
Introduction: Despite a two-fold increased risk, individuals of African ancestry have been significantly underrepresented in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) genomics efforts.
Methods: GWAS of 2,903 AD cases and 6,265 cognitive controls of African ancestry. Within-dataset results were meta-analyzed, followed by gene-based and pathway analyses, and analysis of RNAseq and whole-genome sequencing data.
Introduction: The study examined Black and White prospective participants' views of barriers to and facilitators of participation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarker research.
Methods: In a mixed-methods study, 399 community-dwelling Black and White older adults (age ≥55) who had never participated in AD research completed a survey about their perceptions of AD biomarker research. Individuals from lower socioeconomic and education backgrounds and Black men were over-sampled to address perspectives of traditionally under-represented groups.
Introduction: Community advisory boards (CABs) and researcher partnerships present a promising opportunity to accelerate enrollment of underrepresented groups (URGs). We outline the framework for how the CAB and researchers at the Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (IADRC) partnered to accelerate URG participation in AD neuroimaging research.
Methods: CAB and the IADRC researchers partnered to increase the CAB's impact on URG study enrollment through community and research interactions.
J Alzheimers Dis
May 2023
The 1980s saw an upsurge of research in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The necessity of standardized assessment batteries became apparent, leading to the development of standardized instruments, such as the CERAD, the CAMDEX, the CSI 'D', and later the TOOLBOX. The advent of new biological markers has led to speculation in the research community about the necessity for these instruments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAfrican descent populations have a lower Alzheimer disease risk from ApoE ε4 compared to other populations. Ancestry analysis showed that the difference in risk between African and European populations lies in the ancestral genomic background surrounding the ApoE locus (local ancestry). Identifying the mechanism(s) of this protection could lead to greater insight into the etiology of Alzheimer disease and more personalized therapeutic intervention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Compared with non-Hispanic White individuals, African American individuals from the same community are approximately twice as likely to develop Alzheimer disease. Despite this disparity, the largest Alzheimer disease genome-wide association studies to date have been conducted in non-Hispanic White individuals. In the largest association analyses of Alzheimer disease in African American individuals, ABCA7, TREM2, and an intergenic locus at 5q35 were previously implicated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Washington University School of Medicine Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center's "African American Participation in Alzheimer Disease Research: Effective Strategies" Workshop convened to address a major limitation of the ongoing scientific progress regarding Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD): participants in most ADRD research programs overwhelmingly have been limited to non-Hispanic white persons, thus precluding knowledge as to how ADRD may be represented in non-white individuals. Factors that may contribute to successful recruitment and retention of African Americans into ADRD research were discussed and organized into actionable next steps as described within this report.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Africans immigrants in the United States are the least-studied immigrant group, despite the research and policy efforts to address health disparities within immigrant communities. Although their healthcare experiences and needs are unique, they are often included in the "black" category, along with other phenotypically-similar groups. This process makes utilizing research data to make critical healthcare decisions specifically targeting African immigrants, difficult.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: As the older adult population increases, it is imperative to increase older adults' opportunities for social involvement, thus maintaining their important roles and contributions to society. While there are known health-related benefits of volunteerism among older adults, a dearth of information exists on the perceived benefits of volunteerism among low-income and ethnic minority older adults.
Purpose: To understand the perceived psychosocial benefits of volunteering in the Senior Companion Program and to present findings of focus groups conducted with urban-dwelling, low-income older adult women volunteers.
Introduction: Changes in glucose levels may represent a powerful metabolic indicator of dementia in African-Americans with diabetes. It is unclear whether these changes also occur in Caucasians.
Methods: A secondary data analysis using electronic medical records from 5228 African-Americans and Caucasians aged ≥65 years was carried out.
Objectives: To explore the possible association of childhood residence, education levels, and occupation with declining incidence rates of dementia in 2 cohorts of elderly African Americans.
Methods: African Americans residing in Indianapolis without dementia were enrolled in 1992 and 2001 and evaluated every 2-3 years. The cohorts consist of 1,440 participants in 1992 and 1,835 participants in 2001 aged 70 years and older.
Background: African Americans are especially at risk of hypertension and dementia. Antihypertensive medications reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, but may also reduce the risk of dementia.
Objective: To assess the longitudinal effects of antihypertensive medications and blood pressure on the onset of incident dementia in a cohort of African Americans.
Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord
September 2019
Over recent decades, epidemiology has made significant contributions to our understanding of dementia, translating scientific discoveries into population health. Here, we propose reframing dementia epidemiology as "population neuroscience," blending techniques and models from contemporary neuroscience with those of epidemiology and biostatistics. On the basis of emerging evidence and newer paradigms and methods, population neuroscience will minimize the bias typical of traditional clinical research, identify the relatively homogenous subgroups that comprise the general population, and investigate broader and denser phenotypes of dementia and cognitive impairment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Use of mobile health (mHealth) apps is growing at an exponential rate in the United States and around the world. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer disease, and related dementias are a global health problem. Numerous mHealth interventions exist for this population, yet the effect of these interventions on health has not been systematically described.
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