Sunday, May 11, 2025 5/11/2025

Lifecourse exposure to community violence and risk of cognitive decline, Alzheimer's Disease, and related dementias among African-Americans

Award Number: R01AG067525
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Lifecourse exposure to community violence and risk of cognitive decline, Alzheimer's Disease, and related dementias among African-Americans - PROJECT SUMMARY African-American populations are disproportionately impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Existing evidence suggests that a complex interplay of mechanisms contribute to elevated risk, including structural inequities in education, income, and community resources. What is not known is whether the undue burden of ADRD can be partly explained by exposure to community violence over the lifecourse. The current older adult population of African-Americans experienced an epidemic of violence and incarceration in their childhood to midlife years, with ongoing racial disparities even as violent crime overall has declined. Exposure to community violence is associated with multiple ADRD risk factors, including toxic stress, lower educational attainment, poor mental health, substance use, hypertension and obesity. Furthermore, African- American communities are subjected to structural violence, i.e. the extent to which community violence is sanctioned or created by racism in policies and programs. The overall objective of this study is to examine whether exposure to community and structural violence over the lifecourse is associated with cognitive function and ADRD among older African-Americans. The central hypothesis is that violence exposure at key developmental periods, e.g. childhood and adolescence, as well as lifetime cumulative exposure, lead to increased risk of cognitive decline and ADRD. The study will leverage two longitudinal cohorts, the Study of Healthy Aging in African-Americans (STAR) and the Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences (KHANDLE), which have data on social and behavioral measures, five decades of health records, and residential history of participants at several time points from birth until later life. We will use publicly available historical crime, incarceration and demographic data to address the following aims: 1) Examine associations between community and structural violence exposure at multiple time points, and cognitive decline and ADRD incidence; 2) Examine associations between violence exposure, and social, behavioral and health risk factors for cognitive decline and ADRD; and 3) Delineate the interplay between community and structural socioeconomic disadvantage, violence exposure, and cognitive decline and ADRD. We will conduct cross- sectional and longitudinal analyses of cognitive function, decline and ADRD incidence. African-Americans are disproportionately represented in the ADRD epidemic and yet very little is known about how community and structural violence may contribute to brain aging. It is critical from a public health standpoint to identify how policies affecting childhood and adult exposures can mitigate ADRD risk and cognitive decline in later life.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $457,529 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Aging Research	000	5	5/31/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$457,529
														Subtotal = $457,529

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $457,529 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Aging Research	000	4	5/3/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$457,529
														Subtotal = $457,529

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $457,529 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Aging Research	000	3	5/13/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$457,529
														Subtotal = $457,529

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $459,688 )
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Aging Research	000	2	3/9/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$459,688
														Subtotal = $459,688

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $501,699 )
2020	2020	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Aging Research	000	1	4/22/2020	NEW	$501,699
														Subtotal = $501,699

Grand Total All Awards = $2,333,974

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Lifecourse exposure to community violence and risk of cognitive decline, Alzheimer's Disease, and related dementias among African-Americans

Award Number: R01AG067525

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer