Disease Mechanisms: Social and psychosocial factors (Milestone 2.J)
In Progress
Timeline Start - End
2018 - 2024Research Implementation Area
Research on Disease MechanismsExpand research on the role of social and psychosocial factors on AD risk and resilience to risk in ethnically and socioeconomically diverse populations to interrogate mechanisms of disparities in health burden of AD, and inform intervention strategies and public health policy. These efforts should utilize a life-course approach.
Success Criteria
- Initiate at least 6 research projects focused on understanding heterogeneous mechanistic pathways of disparities in health burden of AD, testing whether causal pathways to AD differ across disparities populations and identifying critical windows of vulnerability to AD risk.
Summary of Key Accomplishments
To support our understanding of the causes of AD across populations, NIA issued a funding opportunity to gather new cognitive measures through the Midlife in the U.S. (MIDUS) study. Funded projects will leverage existing non-AD cohorts to understand the behavioral, social, psychological, biological, and environmental risk and protective factors for dementia. NIA also supports a new research network, the Network for Emotional Wellbeing (NEW) and Brain Aging Center, examining how brain aging impacts emotional well-being and risk for progression of AD/ADRD.
The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) has expanded to include additional minority participants across their age cohorts, providing an opportunity to implement the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) to assess dementia risk across diverse populations. NIA also supports demographically diverse educational cohort studies, including Add Health and High School and Beyond, seeking to elucidate how education and other social factors affect risk and protective factors for dementia across the life course.
The key accomplishments summary is current as of March 2022.
Accomplishments/Implementation Activities
Funding Initiatives
- PAR-14-281: Connectomes Related to Human Disease (U01)
- PAR-15-356: Major Opportunities for Research in Epidemiology of Alzheimer's Disease and Cognitive Resilience (R01)
- RFA-AG-15-018: Immune and Inflammatory Mechanisms in Alzheimer’s Disease (R01)
- PAR-19-070: Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
- PAR-19-071: Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- NOT-AG-18-047: Health Disparities and Alzheimer's Disease (reissue of PAR-15-349 and PAR-15-350 (as R21))
- PAR-17-054: Leveraging Existing Cohort Studies to Clarify Risk and Protective Factors for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (R01)
- NOT-AG-18-053: Major Opportunities for Research in Epidemiology of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias and Cognitive Resilience
- PAR-18-581: Emotional Function in Normal Aging and/or MCI and AD/ADRD (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
- NOT-AG-20-039: Fundamental and Translational Research on Decision Making in Aging and/or Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD)
- NOT-AG-20-040: Basic and Translational Research on Affective, Motivational, and Social Function in Normative Aging and/or Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD)
- PAR-20-164: Mechanisms and consequences of sleep disparities in the U.S. (R01)
- NOT-AG-21-045: Opportunities for Research in Epidemiology of AD/ADRD and Cognitive Resilience
- PAR-21-311 (Reissue of PAR-18-835): Global Brain and Nervous System Disorders Research Across the Lifespan (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
- PAR-21-319 (Reissue of PAR-18-836): Global Brain and Nervous System Disorders Research Across the Lifespan (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)
- PAR-21-157: The Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Study - Cognitive and Neurocognitive Precursors of AD/ADRD
- PAR-21-280: Dyadic Interpersonal Processes and Biopsychosocial Outcomes (R01 - Basic Experimental Studies with Humans)
- PAR-21-281: Dyadic Interpersonal Processes and Biopsychosocial Outcomes (R01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)
- NOT-AG-22-022: Administrative Supplements to Support Research Infrastructure on Exposome Studies in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD)
Research Programs and Resources
- NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research – Human Connectome Project
- Health Disparities and Alzheimer's Disease
- Social & psychosocial factors; life course risk and resilience
- Leveraging Existing Cohort Studies to Clarify Risk and Protective Factors for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
- RCCN Preconference on Resilience and Reserve in Aging
- Six new projects were funded in FY2019
- Investigating the impact of loneliness on brain aging and pre-symptomatic Alzheimer's disease progression
- Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development & cognitive aging (CATSLife2)
- Reversibility Network: Interventions to Reverse or Remediate Effects of Early Life Adversity on Ageing Processes new call for pilot applications
- Characterizing Disparities in Late-Life Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Risk Through Polygenic Risk and Epidemiologic Factors in the Health and Retirement Survey
- Understanding the link between sociocultural and biological factors to brain health across race & ethnicity in midlife
- Administrative supplements funded under NOT-AG-22-022
- Projects funded under PAR-21-157 in FY22