Progress and future challenges in aging and diversity research in the United States

Paul Brewster; Lisa Barnes; Mary Haan; Julene K Johnson; Jennifer J Manly; Anna María Nápoles; Rachel A Whitmer; Luis Carvajal-Carmona; Dawnte Early; Sarah Farias; Elizabeth Rose Mayeda; Rebecca Melrose; Oanh L Meyer; Adina Zeki Al Hazzouri; Ladson Hinton; Dan Mungas

doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2018.07.221

Progress and future challenges in aging and diversity research in the United States

Alzheimers Dement. 2019 Jul;15(7):995-1003. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2018.07.221. Epub 2018 Sep 19.

Authors

Paul Brewster¹, Lisa Barnes², Mary Haan³, Julene K Johnson⁴, Jennifer J Manly⁵, Anna María Nápoles⁶, Rachel A Whitmer⁷, Luis Carvajal-Carmona⁸, Dawnte Early⁹, Sarah Farias⁹, Elizabeth Rose Mayeda¹⁰, Rebecca Melrose¹¹, Oanh L Meyer⁹, Adina Zeki Al Hazzouri¹², Ladson Hinton¹³, Dan Mungas⁹

Affiliations

¹ Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, USA. Electronic address: pbrew@uvic.ca.
² Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center and Departments of Neurological Sciences and Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
³ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UC San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁴ Institute for Health & Aging, UC San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁵ Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain and the Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
⁶ Center for Aging in Diverse Communities, UC San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁷ Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA, USA.
⁸ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, Davis, CA, USA.
⁹ Department of Neurology, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UC San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; University of California, Los Angeles Department of Epidemiology, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
¹¹ VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
¹² Division of Epidemiology and Population Health, Department of Public Health Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
¹³ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA.

Abstract

In 2016, the UC Davis Latino Aging Research Resource Center and UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center brought together experts from across the country to consolidate current knowledge and identify future directions in aging and diversity research. This report disseminates the research priorities that emerged from this conference, building on an earlier Gerontological Society of America preconference. We review key racial/ethnic differences in cognitive aging and dementia and identify current knowledge gaps in the field. We advocate for a systems-level framework for future research whereby environmental, sociocultural, behavioral, neuropathological, genetic, and psychometric levels of analysis are examined together to identify pathways and mechanisms that influence disparities. We then discuss steps to increase the recruitment and retention of racial/ethnic minorities in aging studies, as none of the recommendations will be possible without strong collaboration between racial/ethnic minority communities and researchers. This approach is consistent with the National Institute on Aging Health Disparities Research Framework.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Cognitive aging; Epidemiology; Health disparities; Race/ethnicity.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Aging*
Alzheimer Disease* / epidemiology
Alzheimer Disease* / ethnology
Biomedical Research*
Health Status Disparities
Hispanic or Latino
Humans
Minority Groups*
Patient Selection
Racial Groups*
United States

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding