Epidemiology of Dementia in Older Dialysis Patients

候选人：Anne Murray，医学博士，理学硕士，受过奖学金训练的老年病学家，拥有流行病学硕士学位，也是明尼苏达大学附属教学医院亨内平县医疗中心的专职医生。她也是肾脏分析服务公司的研究员，这是一个流行病学实验室，也是美国国立卫生研究院美国肾脏数据系统(USRDS)数据库的储存库。默里博士的近期目标是开展透析患者认知障碍的流行病学和预防方面的研究。职业目标：默里博士目前的职业目标包括：1)在神经心理学、研究设计、纵向分析和研究伦理方面的高级课程工作；2)与她的导师合作，通过定期安排的会议和定向阅读，进一步发展她在肾脏疾病认知障碍领域的研究技能；3)在她的导师的指导下，对透析患者认知障碍的患病率和进展进行为期三年的纵向研究；4)继续使用USRDS数据库对透析患者痴呆症的流行病学进行分析；以及5)在获奖的最后一年，制定一项提案，为一项关于慢性肾脏疾病患者认知障碍发生率和风险因素的前瞻性研究获得资金，该疾病以前称为慢性肾功能不全。默里博士的长期职业目标是在肾脏疾病和其他慢性疾病的认知障碍流行病学领域取得独立的研究人员的地位。研究计划：在五年的获奖期内，Murray博士计划利用对她的试点数据和USRDS数据库的分析结果，对双城透析患者的认知障碍的患病率和进展进行前瞻性的纵向研究。这项研究将检验以下假设：1)透析患者的认知障碍患病率高于一般人群，2)随着透析年限的延长，认知障碍的风险增加，3)年龄、基线修订的简易智力状态检查(3MS)分数、教育程度和中风病史将强烈预测透析患者认知障碍的进展速度。随后，默里博士计划与她的导师合作，撰写一份重要的提案，研究慢性肾脏疾病患者认知障碍的流行病学。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Candidate: Anne Murray, M.D., M.Sc., is a fellowship-trained geriatrician with a Masters in Epidemiology and a staff physician at Hennepin County Medical Center, a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Minnesota. She is also an investigator with Nephrology Analytical Services, an epidemiology laboratory and repository for the NIH's United States Renal Data System (USRDS) database. Dr. Murray's immediate goal is to pursue research in the epidemiology and prevention of cognitive impairment in dialysis patients. Career Objectives: Dr. Murray's immediate career objectives include: 1) advanced coursework in neuropsychology, study design, longitudinal analysis, and ethical conduct of research, 2) work with her mentors to further develop her research skills in the area of cognitive impairment in renal disease through regularly scheduled meetings and directed readings, 3) conduct a three-year longitudinal study of the prevalence and progression of cognitive impairment in dialysis patients under the guidance of her mentors, 4) continue to conduct analyses on the epidemiology of dementia in dialysis patients using the USRDS database, and 5) during the last year of the award, develop a proposal to obtain funding for a prospective study of the incidence of and risk factors for cognitive impairment in patients with chronic kidney disease, formerly called chronic renal insufficiency. Dr. Murray's long-term career objective is to attain independence as an investigator in the area of epidemiology of cognitive impairment in renal disease and other chronic diseases. Research Plan: During the five-year award period, Dr. Murray plans to use findings from analyses of her pilot data and the USRDS database to conduct a prospective longitudinal study of the prevalence and progression of cognitive impairment in dialysis patients in the Twin Cities. The study will test the hypotheses that 1) dialysis patients have a higher prevalence of cognitive impairment than the general population, 2) the risk of cognitive impairment increases with duration in years of dialysis, and 3) age, Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) score at baseline, education, and history of stroke will be strong predictors of the rate of progression of cognitive impairment in dialysis patients. Subsequently, Dr. Murray plans to collaborate with her mentors to write a major proposal to examine the epidemiology of cognitive impairment in patients with chronic kidney disease.