R01AG077472

Characterizing Older Mexican (American) Participation in Activity Digitally, Reliably, and Ecologically with the CART Platform (Compadre CART): Implications for Cognition and ADRD - Project Summary/Abstract

The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) is projected to double over the next 20 years. Ethnic and racial minorities will bear a disproportionate burden of disease, with the most staggering increase anticipated among Mexican Americans and other Hispanic groups, nearly six-fold. However, there is marked variability in cognitive trajectories, and approximately two-thirds of Mexican Americans surviving into their 80s will remain dementia-free. This variability in outcomes highlights the influence of risk and resilience factors, which may alter the course of neurodegenerative diseases. Recent studies suggest that potentially modifiable risk factors may contribute to up to 40% of all dementia cases. Among these factors, the protective benefits of lifestyle factors, such as physical, cognitive, and social activity engagement, are so compelling that the nation's leading health organizations have adopted these findings as recommendations for attenuating ADRD risk. However, the protective effects of lifestyle factors in Mexican Americans, which may interact with socioeconomic factors, comorbid disease burden, genetic loading, and cultural factors, warrant further investigation.

Assessment of activity engagement has typically relied on self-report, which is prone to inaccuracies due to the fallibility of memory, social desirability biases, and the limited frequency of evaluation, negating a more nuanced understanding of behavioral change in response to common fluctuations in environmental and individual factors. Our team at Oregon Health & Science University has validated the Collaborative Aging Research Using Technology (CART) platform, which is comprised of an integrated network of in-home monitoring devices that capture high-density multi-modal data and are coupled with algorithms to derive activity patterns that predict cognitive decline. Through a partnership with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, we have extended the technology to the homes of five Mexican American older adults. We now propose to expand upon this line of research and leverage the CART platform to continuously monitor real-world physical, cognitive, and social activity patterns across a three-year period in a cohort of 120 older Mexican American adults (AIM 1A). We will further evaluate the modifying effects of socioeconomic status, acculturation, sex, depression, cardiovascular burden, and apolipoprotein E4 status (AIM 1B).

Next, we will explore the associations between activity engagement and traditional and novel neuroimaging indices of brain aging and ADRD (AIM 2). Finally, we will examine the inflammatory profile associated with activity engagement, as well as their associations with cognitive decline and neuroimaging outcomes (AIM 3). Leveraging the innovative CART technology platform, we will identify the activity engagement patterns that promote risk and resilience of cognitive decline in a high-risk, understudied ethnic group. The results of the study will identify multidimensional health determinants and inflammatory pathways that shape cognitive trajectories, providing insights into targeted ADRD prevention and treatment strategies within this growing population.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

TO ENCOURAGE BIOMEDICAL, SOCIAL, AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING DIRECTED TOWARD GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE AGING PROCESS AND THE DISEASES, SPECIAL PROBLEMS, AND NEEDS OF PEOPLE AS THEY AGE. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING HAS ESTABLISHED PROGRAMS TO PURSUE THESE GOALS. THE DIVISION OF AGING BIOLOGY EMPHASIZES UNDERSTANDING THE BASIC BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES OF AGING. THE DIVISION OF GERIATRICS AND CLINICAL GERONTOLOGY SUPPORTS RESEARCH TO IMPROVE THE ABILITIES OF HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONERS TO RESPOND TO THE DISEASES AND OTHER CLINICAL PROBLEMS OF OLDER PEOPLE. THE DIVISION OF BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL RESEARCH SUPPORTS RESEARCH THAT WILL LEAD TO GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL, ECONOMIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT BOTH THE PROCESS OF GROWING OLD AND THE PLACE OF OLDER PEOPLE IN SOCIETY. THE DIVISION OF NEUROSCIENCE FOSTERS RESEARCH CONCERNED WITH THE AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AS WELL AS THE RELATED SENSORY, PERCEPTUAL, AND COGNITIVE PROCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH AGING AND HAS A SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM: TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE SBIR PROGRAM, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION.

93.866 - Aging Research

National Institute on Aging (NIA) [HHS - NIH]

Los Angeles, California 900481804 United States

Single Zip Code

Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-19-070)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 288% from $783,114 to $3,036,378.