Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators, UC Davis Health, Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementia in midlife Latinos
Principal Investigator: Yamnia I. Cortés, PhD, MPH, FNP-BC, FAHA
Funded by: Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators, UC Davis Health
Timeline: 2021-2024
By 2060 over 3 million Latinos will be living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) in the United States — the fastest growth of ADRD across racial/ethnic groups. Latinas have higher rates of ADRD than Latino men in older ages, and progress to ADRD faster. Biological and social factors across the life course, including lower socioeconomic position, discrimination, depression, and a significantly worse cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor profile are associated with cognition. However, the biological and social factors that contribute to sex differences in ADRD are poorly understood. This project will use stored biospecimens from the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging (SALSA) and the Niños Lifestyle and Diabetes Study (NIÑOS) to identify biological and social factors related to biomarkers of ADRD neuropathology (Aß40, Aß42, p-tau 181, total tau, neurofilament light chain) in midlife Latino men and women, and determine how blood-based biomarkers of ADRD neuropathology are associated with intergenerational cognition in this population.
