# ARIC Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS) Renewal

> **NIH NIH U01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $8,485,666

## Abstract

The vascular contribution to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) is a critical area of research related to
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and the AD-related dementias (ADRD), particularly given its value in identifying
areas for intervention and prevention. This proposal is a renewal application to the Atherosclerosis Risk in
Communities (ARIC) Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS), a community-based cohort from four U.S.
communities, which, when first funded in 2011-2013, added detailed cognitive evaluation and adjudication of
mild cognitive impairment (MCI and dementia, along with brain imaging and new vascular and cardiac markers,
to 25 years of careful measurement and collection of cardiovascular risk factors, markers, and events through
the parent ARIC study. Our previous studies have demonstrated the importance of midlife vascular risk factors
in the development of later-life cognitive decline, dementia, and amyloid deposition, and, given the biracial
structure of the cohort, have considered racial disparities in some of these risk factors and outcomes. In this
renewal, we propose to not only study these cognitive impairments at older cohort ages with greater rates of
MCI and dementia, in order to identify subsets which may offer potential avenues for late-life prevention of
AD/ADRD's, but also to consider if similar midlife risk factors impact late-life physical function declines, as this
may represent a parallel and possibly alternative pathway to prevention of both physical function impairment
and AD/ADRD's. Furthermore, we will evaluate factors associated with maintenance of cognitive and physical
function, as well as the concept of cognitive reserve: better-than-expected scores or less-than-expected
decline for an observed level of brain pathology. To pursue these questions, we will perform annual visits of the
ARIC cohort, for four total visits, with detailed neurocognitive testing and brain imaging with MRI and florbetapir
PET in 1000 participants, to build upon the prior 30+ years' worth of detailed vascular risk factor and marker
and lifestyle measurements, starting when participants were middle-aged. The size and diversity of our cohort
allows us to conduct sex- and race-specific analyses. This renewal will provide valuable information about
opportunities for prevention for AD/ADRD's, with direct relevance not only to the recent ADRD summit
recommendations, but also the first goal of the National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) to prevent and treat
AD by 2025. Through our ongoing data sharing endeavors and collaborations with other studies, as well as the
opportunities provided for ancillary studies building on the ARIC NCS study, the study will reach beyond the
proposed aims described here.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10252020
- **Project number:** 5U01HL096812-11
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** JOSEF CORESH
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $8,485,666
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2010-07-07 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10252020

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10252020, ARIC Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS) Renewal (5U01HL096812-11). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10252020. Licensed CC0.

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