# VCID and Stroke in a Bi-racial National Cohort

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2022 · $2,574,046

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT 
 
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), dementia and stroke are substantially higher among blacks
aged 45+, and among residents of the southeastern region of the US. The REasons for
Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study is national, longitudinal cohort
study of ~ 30,000 blacks and whites designed to advance the understanding of the
epidemiology of cognitive decline and stroke, and the contributors to racial and geographic
disparities in these outcomes. The current application has three aims:
 1. Identify social, cardiovascular, and environmental mechanisms of racial and geographic
 disparities in incident vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID).
 With assessment in mid-life and over a decade of longitudinal cognitive data, REGARDS is
 uniquely positioned to identify vascular, social, and behavioral mechanisms underlying
 disparities in VCID, and modifiable pathways on which interventions may narrow disparities
 in VCID. After completion of a nested calibration/confirmation study to develop an algorithm
 for the classification of MCI and dementia, we will characterize racial and geographic
 disparities in VCID and determine if interventions on mediators would diminish or eliminate
disparities.
 2. Answer as-yet-unanswered questions in stroke and cerebrovascular disease epidemiology.
 By continuing the successful approaches for stroke surveillance among 17000 active cohort
 members, the study will assess the association of risk factor changes and novel biomarkers
 quantified with the completion of the second in-person exam with stroke risk and disparities
 in stroke risk. In addition, with the aging of the cohort, this aim will provide greatly needed
 information on stroke epidemiology in the elderly.
 3. Utilize incident risk factor data and biospecimens to identify pathways for development of
 incident hypertension and diabetes, with the goal of understanding the impact on incident
 VCID and stroke. We have documented that ≈30% of the racial disparity in stroke risk is
 attributable to racial disparities in prevalence of hypertension and diabetes, and the study
 will investigate the biomarker pathways contributing to the higher incidence of hypertension
 and diabetes in blacks.
 Each proposed aim addresses a topic of profound public health impact, and REGARDS
 progress to date uniquely positions the study to address these aims using proven approaches
 in an efficient manner.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10337292
- **Project number:** 5U01NS041588-21
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** MARY CUSHMAN
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $2,574,046
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2001-09-24 → 2024-09-16

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10337292

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10337292, VCID and Stroke in a Bi-racial National Cohort (5U01NS041588-21). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10337292. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*