R01AG078522

Genetic Differences in the Causal Effect of Education Quantity and Quality on Cognitive Functioning and Dementia Diagnosis Later in Life - Project Summary/Abstract

Gains in life expectancy and population aging are driving a sharp rise in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). In this context, it is crucial to understand what factors can modify ADRD risk and cognitive decline in older ages.

Education has been identified as one potential modifier, as higher education is robustly associated with lower ADRD risk. However, little is known about how much of this association reflects a causal effect from education to ADRD risk and how much is driven by common third factors, such as genetics, that may confound and moderate this relationship.

In addition, the relevance of factors beyond the quantity of education – in particular, the importance of education quality as a driver of ADRD risk, as well as a moderator in the relationship between education and ADRD – are not well understood. Filling these knowledge gaps is essential to the design of effective policies aimed at improving cognitive health and reducing disparities in ADRD risk.

In this project, we propose to study how much of the association between education, cognition, and ADRD risk in late-life is due to a causal effect running from education quantity and quality to cognition/ADRD risk. To deal with the fact that different people self-select into different types and quantities of schooling, we will use two natural experiments: one school reform that affected education quantity (years of compulsory schooling) and another that affected quality (academic curriculum).

We will supplement existing datasets with the construction of polygenic indexes (PGIs) for educational attainment (EA) and for Alzheimer's disease (AD), and by linking participants to local historic school quality measures such as pupil/teacher ratios and teacher pay. This will allow us to study the role of genetics and school quality in moderating the effects of both school reforms on ADRD.

We will use data from three large international aging cohorts: the UK Biobank (UK), FinnGen (Finland), and Lifelines (The Netherlands). These cohorts allow us to study administrative-based measures of ADRD diagnosis, ADRD risk factors, and survey-based measures of cognition. Moreover, the three cohorts were genotyped, allowing us to explore the role of genetics in driving ADRD risk as well as in moderating the relationship between education and ADRD risk.

Establishing whether education has a causal effect on late-life cognition and ADRD risk is challenging but essential for identifying clinical and policy interventions. Without causal evidence, policymakers do not know whether education improves individuals' later-life cognitive health or whether the education-ADRD association reflects differences in the characteristics of individuals who self-select into education.

Moreover, it is equally important to know what aspects of education causally affect ADRD risk. What is the relative benefit of increasing the quantity of education versus improving its quality? Are individuals who are predicted to get more education based on their genes protected against genetic risk of AD? The lack of such knowledge limits the design of policies aimed at reducing disparities in ADRD risk.

Our project aims to start filling these knowledge gaps.

University Of Southern California

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 900893616 United States

Single Zip Code

Data Enhancements and Analyses to Clarify the Relationship between Education and Cognitive Function (including AD/ADRD) (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (RFA-AG-22-025)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 283% from $817,898 to $3,130,854.