Chronic Stressors, Brain Vasculature, and Cognitive Function in African-American Women

项目概要 该项目的总体目标是确定慢性社会心理压力源是否以及如何可能 有助于非洲裔美国女性阿尔茨海默病 (AD) 和中风的临床前相关性 中年。有充分证据表明，老年非裔美国人患 AD 和中风的几率明显更高 比非西班牙裔白人同行。然而，在大多数针对 65 岁以上个体的研究中，这些 差异已经存在，这表明造成差异的因素在生命的早期就出现了。 随着该领域已转向了解认知衰老的最早变化，拟议的项目提供了 在最近资助的一项研究中，这是一个前所未有的机会来调查不良大脑健康的新风险因素 35-45 岁非裔美国女性血管老化的研究。我们将招募 100 名非洲人作为子样本 根据家长研究，不同教育背景的美国女性报告的高水平和低水平 分别为慢性应激（每组 N=50）。经过验证的问卷将用于衡量 总体慢性压力以及已知在非裔美国女性中常见的慢性压力源（即 歧视、经济压力、邻里压力和情感支持不足）。主要目标将 比较高压力与低压力女性的 1) 大脑结构和脉管系统（例如海马体）测量 体积和皮质厚度、微血管疾病、脑血流量）使用最先进的磁力 磁共振成像（MRI）技术；以及2）认知功能，使用简短的神经心理学电池。 我们还将检查是否已建立（夜间血压、动脉僵硬度）和新的（再生 能力）总体血管风险标记影响目标中非裔美国女性的这些结果 年龄范围。该 R21 项目的总体目标是获得更大的、前瞻性的 R01- 的效应量 资助的研究。该研究计划的长期目标是了解影响和途径 通过这种方式，慢性压力会导致未充分研究的弱势群体患 AD 和中风的风险 妇女。

PROJECT SUMMARY The overall goal of this project is to determine whether and how chronic psychosocial stressors might contribute to pre-clinical correlates of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and stroke in African-American women at midlife. It is well documented that older African-Americans have significantly higher rates of AD and stroke than their non-Hispanic white counterparts. However, in most studies of individuals over age 65, these disparities are already present, suggesting that factors responsible for the disparity occur much earlier in life. As the field has shifted to understanding the earliest changes in cognitive aging, the proposed project provides an unprecedented opportunity to investigate novel risk factors for adverse brain health in a recently funded study of vascular aging in African-American women aged 35-45. We will recruit a subsample of 100 African- American women of varying educational backgrounds from the parent study reporting high and low levels of chronic stress, respectively (N=50 from each group). Validated questionnaires will be utilized to measure overall chronic stress as well as chronic stressors known to be common among African-American women (i.e. discrimination, financial strain, neighborhood stressors and inadequate emotional support). Primary aims will compare high vs. low stress women on 1) measures of brain structure and vasculature (e.g. hippocampal volume and corticol thickness, microvascular disease, cerebral blood flow) using state of the art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques; as well as 2) cognitive function, using a brief neuropsychological battery. We will also examine whether established (nocturnal blood pressure, arterial stiffness) and novel (regenerative capacity) markers of overall vascular risk impact these outcomes among African-American women in the target age range. The overall objective of this R21 project is to obtain effect sizes for a larger, prospective, R01- funded study. The long-term goal of this program of research is to understand the impact of and pathways through which chronic stress contributes to risk for AD and stroke in an understudied, yet vulnerable group of women.