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Progress and future challenges in aging and diversity research in the United States
Brewster P, Barnes L, Haan M, Johnson JK, Manly JJ, Nápoles AM, Whitmer RA, Carvajal-Carmona L et al.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2018-09-19
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
In 2016, the UC Davis Latino Aging Research Resource Center and UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center brought together experts from across the country to consolidate current knowledge and identify future directions in aging and diversity research. This report disseminates the research priorities that emerged from this conference, building on an earlier Gerontological Society of America preconference. We review key racial/ethnic differences in cognitive aging and dementia and identify current knowledge gaps in the field. We advocate for a systems-level framework for future research whereby environmental, sociocultural, behavioral, neuropathological, genetic, and psychometric levels of analysis are examined together to identify pathways and mechanisms that influence disparities. We then discuss steps to increase the recruitment and retention of racial/ethnic minorities in aging studies, as none of the recommendations will be possible without strong collaboration between racial/ethnic minority communities and researchers. This approach is consistent with the National Institute on Aging Health Disparities Research Framework.
Key findings
- This report disseminates the research priorities that emerged from this conference, building on an earlier Gerontological Society of America preconference.
- We review key racial/ethnic differences in cognitive aging and dementia and identify current knowledge gaps in the field.
- We advocate for a systems-level framework for future research whereby environmental, sociocultural, behavioral, neuropathological, genetic, and psychometric levels of analysis are examined together to identify pathways and mechanisms that influence disparities.
- We then discuss steps to increase the recruitment and retention of racial/ethnic minorities in aging studies, as none of the recommendations will be possible without strong collaboration between racial/ethnic minority communities and researchers.
- This approach is consistent with the National Institute on Aging Health Disparities Research Framework.
Why it matters
This 2016 conference report from UC Davis aging and Alzheimer's centers sets out research priorities for understanding why dementia and cognitive aging differ across racial and ethnic groups in the US. It argues that environmental, sociocultural, behavioral, brain-pathology, genetic and testing (psychometric) factors should be studied together, and that none of this is possible without strong collaboration between minority communities and researchers to recruit and retain participants. It is a research agenda, not new data, and does not report a treatment, cure or prevention.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 50/100
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 | 2 / 5 | 2019 — within 10 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 105 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 11.7 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 10 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 37 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Dan Mungas: h-index 93 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, Los Angeles: institution h-index 1,923 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 12 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30240574) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2018.07.221
- PubMed: 30240574
- Original source →
- Free full text: Alzheimer s & Dementia →
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
Brewster, P., Barnes, L., Haan, M., Johnson, J. K., Manly, J. J., Nápoles, A. M., et al. (2019). Progress and future challenges in aging and diversity research in the United States. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2018.07.221
Vancouver
Brewster P, Barnes L, Haan M, Johnson JK, Manly JJ, Nápoles AM, et al. Progress and future challenges in aging and diversity research in the United States. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2019. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2018.07.221. PMID: 30240574.
BibTeX
@article{brewster2019-30240574,
author = {Brewster, P. and Barnes, L. and Haan, M. and Johnson, J. K. and Manly, J. J. and Nápoles, A. M. and Whitmer, R. A. and Carvajal-Carmona, L. and others},
title = {{Progress and future challenges in aging and diversity research in the United States}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1016/j.jalz.2018.07.221},
pmid = {30240574},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2018.07.221}
}
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