Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Public Health
• Sociology

Background:

• Asian Americans (ASAs) are a rapidly growing demographic in the U.S.
• ASAs are significantly underrepresented in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) research.
• The ARISE study addresses this gap by examining discrimination's effects on cognitive health in ASAs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the prevalence of multi-level discrimination among ASAs.
• To determine the association between discrimination, cognitive performance, and AD biomarkers.
• To evaluate psychosocial and cardiometabolic factors as potential moderators in AD.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 500 older Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese Americans across three sites.
• Collected data via sociodemographic surveys, cognitive assessments, health evaluations, and blood draws.
• Utilized multilingual data collection packets and derived area-level discrimination measures.

Main Results:

• Enrolled 252 participants (84 Chinese, 56 Korean, 112 Vietnamese) as of January 2025.
• 86.1% completed blood draws for biomarker analysis.
• Participants were older (mean age 74.37), predominantly first-generation (99%), with limited English proficiency (85%).

Conclusions:

• The ARISE study enhances understanding of discrimination as a social determinant of AD.
• Demonstrates the feasibility of engaging diverse ASA populations in AD research.
• Establishes a framework for multilingual cognitive research protocols and procedures.