Research Project
10286938
The proposed research consists of five distinct Pilot Projects, each of which will be carried out as part of the Center for Aging and Policy Studies (CAPS)?s Program Development (Pilot) Core (Core B). All five are population-based social science studies that address one or more of NIA?s announced priorities in the area of Alzheimer?s disease and related dementias (ADRD) research. Two of the proposed tasks represent a broadening of the analyses conducted in existing Pilot Projects. (1) Consequences of Disabilities in Late Middle Age for Consumption Well- Being, will examine the consequences of disability in late middle age for economic well-being using consumption-based measures instead of the usual income-based measures. (2) Health Shocks and Changes in Spatial Proximity between Parents and Children will study how changes in spatial proximity of family members evolves relative to changes in health, such as an AD diagnosis. The remaining three projects represent new, ADRD-focused studies that contribute to CAPS?s Specific Aims. (3) Estimated Arterial Stiffness as a Predictor of Cognitive Decline and Dementia in Middle-Aged and Older Adults will use a novel survey-based measure of arterial stiffness to predict cognitive decline and the transition to a dementia diagnosis. (4) Comparing Alzheimer?s Related Mortality Among People with and without Down Syndrome examines differences between those with and without Down syndrome with respect to ADRD prevalence and in reported cause of death. (5) Living alone and risk for the development of Alzheimer?s Disease and related dementias: When does solitary living matter and why will investigate the role of living alone as a risk factor for ADRD onset, as well as the presence of factors that buffer this risk. Together, these projects will produce important new findings in a number of priority areas, including the proposed research will address both the prevalence and the incidence of cognitive decline and dementia; will inform the knowledge base with respect to trajectories of cognitive decline and aging; and will provide new findings on the consequences for individuals and their families of prevalent ADRD, adding to our knowledge about the population-level burden of illness. Additionally, one of the proposed projects will develop and apply an innovative approach to using biomarkers as an early sign of dementia, which promises to add to our knowledge regarding causal pathways to cognitive decline and ADRD, and to suggest possible malleable mechanistic targets on behavioral and social pathways to ADRD.
