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

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2021 · $459,688

## Abstract

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.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10148618
- **Project number:** 5R01AG067525-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Michelle Jassmine Ko
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $459,688
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2025-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10148618

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10148618, Lifecourse exposure to community violence and risk of cognitive decline, Alzheimer's Disease, and related dementias among African-Americans (5R01AG067525-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10148618. Licensed CC0.

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