# Risk Factors for Future Cognitive Decline and Alzheimers Disease in Older African Americans

> **NIH NIH R01** · RUTGERS THE STATE UNIV OF NJ NEWARK · 2024 · $1,511,809

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
African Americans have double the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as compared to white Americans.
We do not sufficiently understand the causes of this health disparity. In particular, there continues to be a
dearth of data on the cognitive and neural changes that occur across the lifespan in older African Americans
and how these relate to health and lifestyle, environmental, and genetic risk factors for AD. During the current
grant cycle, we have shown that low levels of aerobic fitness and poor sleep quality may be key drivers of
cognitive decline and AD in older African Americans. However, the impact of these potentially-modifiable
health and lifestyle variables are not uniform across all individuals: rather, genetic variations and socio-
environmental factors interact in complex ways to moderate how aerobic fitness and sleep quality influence
brain health. To investigate these knowledge gaps further, we will leverage our track record of sixteen years
(2006-2022) of deep community engagement through innovative partnerships with churches, senior centers,
medical clinics, public housing and other organizations that serve the greater Newark, NJ area that has
contributed to our success in enrolling older African Americans. Specifically, we will recruit 240 cognitively
healthy participants ages 60 and above, and retest them in years 3 and 4 for their Cycle II (two-year) follow up.
All participants who are age 80 or above will be tested every year, due to higher likelihood of decline within one
year. Participants who show preliminary signs of cognitive decline—but not sufficient to be classified as mild
cognitive impairment (MCI) or AD—will also be tested annually. Despite the deaths of almost 10% of our cohort
from Covid-19, we still project carrying forward 290 participants from our current R01 and previous R56 for
Cycle III (four-year), Cycle IV (six-year) and/or Cycle V (8-year) assessments. Thus, modulo attrition, we
project a net cohort of 530 people for this study representing a longitudinally-followed cohort of older African
Americans. In addition to our prior cognitive, health, lifestyle, genetic, and MRI assessments, we now include
an expanded focus on Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) as well as the addition of two blood-based
biomarkers for AD neuropathology: the ratio of 42 to 40 amino acid-long amyloid β, a marker of plaque
pathology, and phosphorylated tau, a marker of AD-related tau phosphorylation and secretion. Our existing
community engagement and research infrastructure will enable the following four new Specific Aims: (1)
Examine whether aerobic fitness and sleep quality interact with genetic variations to influence cognitive
performance, neural function, and neuropathology in older African Americans; (2) Expand methodologies for
studying SDOH by assessing the predictive value of a novel measure of neighborhood disadvantage that is
based on spatial proximity to abandoned buildings; (3) Evaluate our novel...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10908647
- **Project number:** 5R01AG053961-07
- **Recipient organization:** RUTGERS THE STATE UNIV OF NJ NEWARK
- **Principal Investigator:** MARK A GLUCK
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,511,809
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-05-15 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10908647

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10908647, Risk Factors for Future Cognitive Decline and Alzheimers Disease in Older African Americans (5R01AG053961-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10908647. Licensed CC0.

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