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Health Equity: Identify risk factors across diverse populations (Milestone 1.I)

In Progress

Timeline Start - End

2016 - 2027

Research Implementation Area

Population Studies and Precision Medicine

AD-Related Dementias Focus

Identify life course and multi-level mechanisms of and pathways to AD/ADRD inequities and use the discoveries to reduce these inequities.


Success Criteria

  • One longitudinal community-based cohort study of incident cognitive impairment and dementia in populations that experience heath disparities.
  • Two studies on how the impact of multi-level AD/ADRD risk factors differs across diverse populations.
  • At least one clinical trial to develop and implement real-world approaches, in primary care to decrease known multi-level risk factors for cognitive impairment and dementia over the life course in diverse populations.

Summary of Key Accomplishments

Recent NIH-funded research studies indicate that one of the highest impact intervention targets for population-level dementia risk, and especially for dementia risk in Black, Hispanic, and rural populations, is elevated mid-life blood pressure (see citation below). NIH continues to study risk factors for dementia and cognitive impairment in several studies, including the VCID and Stroke in a Bi-racial National Cohort (REGARDS) study, which follows more than 6000 participants aged 75+ and is ideal to provide insights about racial and geographic disparities in dementia and stroke risk as well as the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC), is designed to investigate the causes of atherosclerosis and its clinical outcomes including dementia, and variation in cardiovascular risk factors, medical care, and disease by race, gender, location, and date.

Citation: Levine DA, et al. Association Between Blood Pressure and Later-Life Cognition Among Black and White Individuals. JAMA Neurol. 2020 Jul 1;77(7):810-819.

The key accomplishments summary is current as of July 2022. 

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An official website of the National Institutes of Health