# Evaluating Chinese-speaking community-dwelling elders in the United States with the Uniform Data Set

> **NIH NIH R03** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2020 · $127,406

## Abstract

Project Summary
Dementia is a common disorder in adults aged 65 or above. Cognitive tests can improve the diagnosis of
dementia in older adults. Elderly Chinese Americans have a high risk of inaccurate diagnosis or delayed
diagnosis of dementia due to the absence of normative data on cognitive tests. The Alzheimer Disease
Centers (ADCs) around the United States assess normal aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's
Disease (AD), and other types of dementia in older adults using the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center's
Uniform Data Set (NACC UDS) evaluation. The evaluation consists of a clinical interview, medical exam,
cognitive testing, and functional assessment. Blood collection for Apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE ε4) genotyping is
commonly completed as part of the standard dementia evaluation. Data from several cultures and populations
have been reported for UDS cognitive tests but few reports in Chinese speaking individuals are available. The
NACC is working to collect UDS data for the Chinese population in China. However, cognitive data for
Chinese in China might not be generalized to the Chinese population in the US. Given the growing US
Chinese population, and their increasing need for dementia care, it is critical to develop normative data to
provide precision in the determination of cognitive deficit. The proposed study is designed to generate UDS
cognitive data using a cohort of healthy elderly Chinese Americans with a wide range of age and educational
attainment. To demonstrate the sensitivity of the cognitive tests, we will assess the relationship of cognitive
performance with demographic (e.g., age, gender, and education), experiential (e.g., year and age arrived at
the United States), clinical (e.g., cognitive status, activities of daily living, and behavioral symptoms), and
genetic variables (e.g., APOE ε4). Participants must be cognitively normal, primarily Chinese speaking, and
aged 65 or above. All enrollees will undergo a 3-hour in-person NACC UDS evaluation. The Chinese
translation of the NACC UDS instruments will be administered by the bilingual English/Chinese staff at the
Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS). Based
on our prior recruitment experience of elderly Chinese Americans for clinical study, we expect to enroll 150
normal controls in a 2-year period. Regression models will be used to examine the relationship of cognitive
performance with demographic, experiential, clinical, and genetic variables. The ADRC at ISMMS has been
successful in recruiting and evaluating Spanish speaking elders in the US. This project builds on this
experience to evaluate elderly Chinese Americans, the fastest growing minority group in the US. Our results
will support the development of normative data for the detection and diagnosis of cognitive decline and
dementia in this underserved population. The data will also provide valuable cross-country comparison and
add value to t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10170514
- **Project number:** 3R03AG061439-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** Clara Li
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $127,406
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-01-15 → 2022-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10170514

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10170514, Evaluating Chinese-speaking community-dwelling elders in the United States with the Uniform Data Set (3R03AG061439-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10170514. Licensed CC0.

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