RF1AG096386

INFLUENCE OF INTERPERSONAL CONNECTEDNESS IN SPOUSAL CARE DYADS ON EARLY PROGRESSION OF AD - PROJECT SUMMARY RESEARCH ON FACTORS INFLUENCING THE EARLY PROGRESSION OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE (AD) HAS PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON PERSONS WITH DEMENTIA (PWD), SUCH AS THEIR GENETICS. MOST PWDS LIVE WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITIES, AND MANY MAINTAIN CLOSE CONNECTIONS WITH THEIR SPOUSAL CAREGIVERS (CGS). RELATIONSHIP SCIENCE RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT CLOSE CONNECTEDNESS TO FAMILY, PARTICULARLY SPOUSES, BENEFITS HEALTH; HOWEVER, THE INFLUENCE OF INTERPERSONAL CONNECTEDNESS BETWEEN PWDS AND SPOUSAL CGS ON EARLY AD PROGRESSION HAS BEEN OVERLOOKED. FAMILY IS PART OF THE COMMUNITY, AND THE INFLUENCE OF PWD-CG CONNECTEDNESS ON AD PROGRESSION MAY BE MODERATED BY THE DYAD’S CONNECTEDNESS TO THEIR COMMUNITIES (E.G., RECEIVING SOCIAL SUPPORT), WHICH CAN DIFFER BETWEEN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS. OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT STRONGER PWD-CG CONNECTEDNESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH SLOWER AD PROGRESSION. IN A 2-YEAR LONGITUDINAL STUDY, WE WILL RECRUIT 71 URBAN AND 71 RURAL CO-LIVING SPOUSAL CARE DYADS WHERE CARE RECIPIENTS ARE IN THE EARLY STAGES OF LATE-ONSET AD. LABORATORY MEASURES OF PWD- CG CONNECTEDNESS (E.G., OBSERVATIONS OF SYNCHRONY IN POSITIVE EMOTIONS DURING FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTIONS) AND AD PROGRESSION (E.G., INCREASED CLINICAL SYMPTOMS AND REDUCED BRAIN VOLUMES) WILL BE COLLECTED AT BASELINE AND AT A 2-YEAR FOLLOW-UP. REAL-WORLD WEARABLE MEASURES (I.E., THE DYAD’S IN- HOME PHYSICAL PROXIMITY AND MOVEMENT SYNCHRONY DURING DAILY SOCIAL INTERACTIONS FOR A 2-WEEK PERIOD) AND QUESTIONNAIRE MEASURES OF PWD-CG CONNECTEDNESS WILL BE COLLECTED EVERY 6 MONTHS THROUGHOUT THE STUDY. ANALYSES WILL ADJUST FOR KNOWN RISK FACTORS FOR AD PROGRESSION (E.G., APOE-Ε4) AND OTHER CONFOUNDING FACTORS (E.G., MEDICATIONS, PERSONALITY). USING A MULTI-METHOD DESIGN, AT THE END OF THE 2-YEAR FOLLOW-UP PERIOD, WE WILL ALSO CONDUCT QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS WITH THE DYADS TO INTEGRATE THEIR EXPLANATIONS OF THE QUANTITATIVE FINDINGS INTO THE STUDY'S OUTCOME INTERPRETATION. ANALYSES WILL BE CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE HOW PWD-CG CONNECTEDNESS INFLUENCES EARLY AD PROGRESSION (AIM 1), HOW COMMUNITIES (URBAN AND RURAL) INFLUENCE PWD-CG CONNECTEDNESS AND ITS IMPACT ON EARLY AD PROGRESSION (AIM 2), AND THE VALUE OF MEASURING PWD-CG CONNECTEDNESS USING WEARABLES (AIM 3). FINDINGS WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS IN DISEASE MECHANISMS AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS FOR AD. THE FINDINGS WILL HELP IDENTIFY EARLY PREDICTORS, DIGITAL MARKERS, AND NOVEL INTERVENTIONS TARGETING PWD-CG CONNECTEDNESS AND, MORE BROADLY, FAMILY AND COMMUNITY CONNECTEDNESS, TO MITIGATE EARLY AD PROGRESSION.

Board Of Regents Of The University Of Nebraska

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]

Nebraska United States

State-Wide

Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-22-093)