Home › Research › Disparities
Global rural health disparities in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: State of the science
Wiese LAK, Gibson A, Guest MA, Nelson AR, Weaver R, Gupta A, Carmichael O, Lewis JP et al.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2023-05-23
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Introduction Individuals living in rural communities are at heightened risk for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), which parallels other persistent place-based health disparities. Identifying multiple potentially modifiable risk factors specific to rural areas that contribute to ADRD is an essential first step in understanding the complex interplay between various barriers and facilitators. Methods An interdisciplinary, international group of ADRD researchers convened to address the overarching question of: "What can be done to begin minimizing the rural health disparities that contribute uniquely to ADRD?" In this state of the science appraisal, we explore what is known about the biological, behavioral, sociocultural, and environmental influences on ADRD disparities in rural settings. Results A range of individual, interpersonal, and community factors were identified, including strengths of rural residents in facilitating healthy aging lifestyle interventions. Discussion A location dynamics model and ADRD-focused future directions are offered for guiding rural practitioners, researchers, and policymakers in mitigating rural disparities. Highlights Rural residents face heightened Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD) risks and burdens due to health disparities. Defining the unique rural barriers and facilitators to cognitive health yields insight. The strengths and resilience of rural residents can mitigate ADRD-related challenges. A novel "location dynamics" model guides assessment of rural-specific ADRD issues.
Key findings
- Results A range of individual, interpersonal, and community factors were identified, including strengths of rural residents in facilitating healthy aging lifestyle interventions.
Why it matters
This review reports that people in rural communities face heightened risk and burden from Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and identifies individual, interpersonal and community factors. It offers a location dynamics model and future directions for reducing these disparities, rather than testing a treatment.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Disparities →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 53/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2023 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 106 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 21.2 citations a year over 5 year(s) since 2023 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 19.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 18 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 102 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Ganesh Muneshwar Babulal: h-index 31 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Washington University in St. Louis: institution h-index 1,962 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 38 institution(s) in 7 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 37218539) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Wiese, L. A. K., Gibson, A., Guest, M. A., Nelson, A. R., Weaver, R., Gupta, A., et al. (2023). Global rural health disparities in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: State of the science. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13104
Vancouver
Wiese LAK, Gibson A, Guest MA, Nelson AR, Weaver R, Gupta A, et al. Global rural health disparities in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: State of the science. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2023. doi:10.1002/alz.13104. PMID: 37218539.
BibTeX
@article{wiese2023-37218539,
author = {Wiese, L. A. K. and Gibson, A. and Guest, M. A. and Nelson, A. R. and Weaver, R. and Gupta, A. and Carmichael, O. and Lewis, J. P. and others},
title = {{Global rural health disparities in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: State of the science}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1002/alz.13104},
pmid = {37218539},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13104}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 26.
Later studies that cite this one
18 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.
Related studies in Disparities
Also tagged “prevalence”
1,224 studies in the library carry the topic tag “prevalence”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,224 tagged studies.