# Health, Aging and Dementia in South Africa: A Longitudinal Study (HAALSI)

> **NIH NIH P01** · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · 2024 · $5,464,940

## Abstract

Overall—Abstract
Adults in South Africa are surviving to older ages, yet the burden and risk factors of aging-related diseases,
particularly dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, remains poorly defined. By 2050, more than 75% of global
dementia cases are projected to occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The proposed renewal of
the Health, Aging and Dementia in South Africa: A Longitudinal Study (HAALSI) Program includes four
tightly integrated projects supported by three cores that together will reveal interrelationships among common
chronic diseases and other risk factors of cognitive impairment and dementia in South Africa. Each project
rests on a common platform of individual surveys, cognitive assessments, biomarker collection, and mortality
ascertainment, with additional measures specific to each project. In previous funding cycles (2014-2022), we
successfully collected three waves of HAALSI Agincourt data in 5059 men and women ≥40 years of age,
achieving response rates of 86-94% among living cohort members. We also collected two waves of data under
the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) at 3-year intervals. For this renewal application, the
HAALSI Program will continue following the HAALSI Agincourt cohort (Aim 1), including original enrollees and
a refresher sample of 1898, 40- to 49-year-olds, for a total of 13 years of longitudinal data. We will conduct a
third HCAP wave on a subsample of the HAALSI Agincourt cohort, with expanded biomarker, neuroimaging,
and clinical assessments to understand interactions among cognitive impairment/dementia, HIV infection, and
cardiometabolic disorders (CMDs). In Aim 2, we will identify biological, social, and economic predictors of
mortality and dementia, and assess disease incidence and changes in physical and cognitive function in the
HAALSI Agincourt cohort. In addition, in Aim 3, we will pilot and launch a nationally representative cohort study
of 4500 people ≥40 years of age and their partners (approximately 7200 total) using approaches from the
HAALSI Agincourt survey; of these, approximately 624 will also undergo the HCAP. The HAALSI National
survey will enable us to estimate the prevalence of dementia and other aging-related conditions, and their
cross-sectional associations with socioeconomic, behavioral, and health utilization exposures. We will use
innovative transportability methods to assess the alignment of diseases in the rural Agincourt community with
the national level. In Aim 4, we will evaluate the health impacts of public health and social policies developed to
improve healthy aging, specifically those aimed at reducing salt intake, and increasing financial security of
older adults, families, and individuals with disabilities. Finally, in Aim 5, we will maximize collaborations with
HRS sister studies, H3Africa and DS-I Africa projects, enabling cross-country comparisons and studies at the
level of population genetics. Together, the HAALSI Program will produce ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10843288
- **Project number:** 5P01AG041710-10
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** LISA F BERKMAN
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $5,464,940
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-09-15 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10843288

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10843288, Health, Aging and Dementia in South Africa: A Longitudinal Study (HAALSI) (5P01AG041710-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10843288. Licensed CC0.

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