RF1AG079202

LifeCourse Food Insecurity and Dementia Risk - Project Abstract

Dementia is the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S., with marked disparities by socioeconomic status, gender, and race/ethnicity. Food insecurity is a common experience in U.S. children and adults, and it likely influences Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's related dementias (AD/ADRD) via multiple mechanisms. Yet, there is almost no quantitative research evaluating food insecurity and AD/ADRD.

The very limited prior work in this area is cross-sectional, which introduces challenges. The temporal ordering of food insecurity and cognitive performance is ambiguous. Researchers are unable to disentangle if acute vs. chronic food insecurity differentially impacts dementia risk. And measuring cognitive assessments at a single time point precludes the possibility of evaluating cognitive decline.

Through innovative uses of the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort (NLSY79), the proposed research fills this critical gap. Both data sources collect prospective information on food insecurity and dementia risk among older adults (HRS), and across the lifecourse (NLSY79).

We will leverage the complementary strengths of these datasets to evaluate: [1] if food insecurity among older adults predicts dementia risk (Aim 1; HRS); [2] if lifecourse food insecurity (from ages 18 – 48) predicts dementia risk (Aim 2; NLSY79); and [3] if Supplemental Nutritional Assistant Program (SNAP) benefit amount patterns (ages 18 – 48) predict dementia risk (Aim 3; NLSY79; SNAP is a federal food insecurity alleviation program).

This innovative work on lifecourse food insecurity is possible through our novel application of sequence analysis, which will be applied to markers of food insecurity collected over time in both nationally representative data sources. Our research questions focus on food insecurity, which is a modifiable target for AD/ADRD prevention that is biologically plausible, common, and potentially high impact through existing policy interventions, such as SNAP.

San Francisco Regents Of The University Of 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]

San Francisco, California 94110 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 End Date has been extended from 08/31/25 to 08/31/27 and the total obligations have increased 66% from $2,410,106 to $4,004,545.