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Machine learning approaches to racial/ethnic differences in social determinants of mild cognitive impairment and its progression to dementia in the All of Us Research Program
Qianyu Dong, Wenbo Wu, Yanping Jiang, Junyu Sui, Chenxin Tan, Xiang Qi. The Journals of Gerontology Series B, 2025-09-19
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
MCI prevalence was comparable across groups (7.5%-8.0%), but progression to dementia varied (9.4% Black vs. 11.4% Other). Perceived stress was the strongest predictor of MCI across all groups, with SHAP values of 15.1% (White), 13.5% (Black), 17.4% (Other), and 19.3% (Hispanic). Predictors of progression to dementia varied by groups: perceived stress (7.0%) for Whites, instrumental social support (14.2%) for Hispanics, daily spiritual experience (34.0%) for Blacks, and everyday discrimination (11.2%) for other groups. The findings underscore the need for group-specific interventions addressing stress mitigation for MCI prevention and culturally-tailored support systems to delay dementia progression. This machine learning approach reveals complex SDOH interactions that traditional methods might overlook, particularly for racial/ethnic underrepresented populations.
Key findings
- MCI prevalence was comparable across groups (7.5%-8.0%), but progression to dementia varied (9.4% Black vs. 11.4% Other).
- Perceived stress was the strongest predictor of MCI across all groups, with SHAP values of 15.1% (White), 13.5% (Black), 17.4% (Other), and 19.3% (Hispanic).
- Predictors of progression to dementia varied by groups: perceived stress (7.0%) for Whites, instrumental social support (14.2%) for Hispanics, daily spiritual experience (34.0%) for Blacks, and everyday discrimination (11.2%) for other groups.
- The findings underscore the need for group-specific interventions addressing stress mitigation for MCI prevention and culturally-tailored support systems to delay dementia progression.
- This machine learning approach reveals complex SDOH interactions that traditional methods might overlook, particularly for racial/ethnic underrepresented populations.
Why it matters
In the All of Us Research Program, perceived stress was the strongest predictor of mild cognitive impairment across groups, while predictors of progression to dementia varied by racial and ethnic group. The authors call for group-specific interventions such as stress mitigation and culturally tailored support, but the study identifies predictors rather than testing a treatment or prevention.
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Study details
- Participants83,180
- Effect size70.9%; 46.0%; 7.5%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Journals of Gerontology Series B) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | The Journals of Gerontology Series B: journal h-index 225 (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 | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 4 / 4 | 83,180 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 2 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 2 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Xiang Qi: h-index 18 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | New York University: institution h-index 1,612 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40986403) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
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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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Dong, Q., Wu, W., Jiang, Y., Sui, J., Tan, C., & Qi, X. (2025). Machine learning approaches to racial/ethnic differences in social determinants of mild cognitive impairment and its progression to dementia in the All of Us Research Program. The Journals of Gerontology Series B. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaf179
Vancouver
Dong Q, Wu W, Jiang Y, Sui J, Tan C, Qi X. Machine learning approaches to racial/ethnic differences in social determinants of mild cognitive impairment and its progression to dementia in the All of Us Research Program. The Journals of Gerontology Series B. 2025. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbaf179. PMID: 40986403.
BibTeX
@article{dong2025-40986403,
author = {Dong, Qianyu and Wu, Wenbo and Jiang, Yanping and Sui, Junyu and Tan, Chenxin and Qi, Xiang},
title = {{Machine learning approaches to racial/ethnic differences in social determinants of mild cognitive impairment and its progression to dementia in the All of Us Research Program}},
journal = {The Journals of Gerontology Series B},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbaf179},
pmid = {40986403},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaf179}
}
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