2023 Alzheimer's Association Research Fellowship to Promote Diversity (AARF-D)

Vascular Risk, blood biomarker, and Brain Health in a Tri-Ethnic Population

How do vascular risk factors contribute to cognition in diverse populations of older adults?

Xiaqing Jiang,Ph.D.
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA - United States

Background

Studies have found that a variety of risk factors for vascular (blood vessel) disease—including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and obesity—also increase a person's risk of acquiring Alzheimer's and other dementia. 
The role of vascular disease in Alzheimer’s and other dementia is particularly relevant among diverse racial and ethnic populations. In the United States, individuals from these groups typically have increased vascular disease risk. Additionally, according to the 2023 Alzheimer’s Association Facts and Figures report, older Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino American individuals are disproportionately more likely than older White Americans to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias. These differences in risk are thought to be due to health-related disparities, including barriers to medical care, for older Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino populations compared with older White populations. 

One’s genetic make-up may also influence the impact of vascular risk factors on cognition. For example, a well-known genetic risk variant for Alzheimer’s known to have an impact on vascular health, called APOE e4, increases risk of disease in certain populations, but recent work suggests it does not have the same effect on older Black/African American individuals.

Research Plan

Dr. Xiaqing Jiang and colleagues will study the role and mechanisms of vascular risk factors in racial/ethnic disparities in later-life cognition. The team will use data from an ongoing, long-term study called the Health and Aging Brain Study: Health Disparities (HABS-HD) whose participants include older Mexican Americans, non-Hispanic White Americans, and Black Americans. The researchers will investigate the relationships between vascular risk factors and cognition among different racial and ethnic groups. Next, Dr. Jiang and colleagues will study whether the association between vascular risk factors and cognition is impacted by sex, genetics, education, and socioeconomic status in the three racial/ethnic groups. Finally, the researchers will investigate how blood-based biological markers (biomarkers) of inflammation and brain health may be associated with vascular risk factors and cognitive decline.

Impact

This work may shed new light on how vascular risk factors contribute to the brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s and how genetic and other factors contribute to this process, particularly in racial and ethnic groups most at risk.