Study aims to ID risk factors for dementia in rural adults

The project will enroll 2,000 adults in Washington and Texas to learn why dementia rates are higher in rural areas than in cities.

SDI Productions / Getty ImagesOlder adults in rural areas face a significantly greater risk of developing dementia.

In the United States, older adults living in rural areas face a significantly greater risk of dementia than those in urban areas. Some estimates suggest they are 80% more likely to have dementia than their urban counterparts with similar backgrounds and health.  

Researchers at UW Medicine and the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth received a $22.7 million National Institutes of Health grant to study this cognitive health difference and how to prevent it. 

The researchers want to identify which community, social and environmental factors cause disparities in health and aging outcomes — specifically, factors that lead to decline and those that promote resilience.  

While they are doing so, they also want to bring health information to the rural areas they are studying. 

“We won’t be collecting information for the sake of it. We'll be collecting information so we know where we should start to actually treat and prevent diseases in these communities,” said Justin B. Miller, the project lead and a professor of neurology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. 

The team will enroll 2,000 adults ages 50 and older across six sites in Washington and Texas. The first site enrolling participants is in Shelton, Washington, with two more sites in Washington and three in Texas to follow. 

A community advisory board will guide how the study operates. Each site will have a local study coordinator, a research assistant and a local partner health organization. Community members will be involved to ensure the research strategy adapts to the different characteristics of each location and benefits those communities. 

Every two years, participants will have an in-person visit with Miller or another member of the research team that will include an interview, cognitive tests and a blood draw. Those will yield insights into the participants’ memory, thinking and markers of Alzheimer’s disease.  

This protocol is the same as one used in the Health and Aging Brain Study – Health Disparities, which involves older adults in urban and suburban areas. As a result, researchers will be able to compare brain aging among rural, suburban and urban populations. 

The researchers will provide participants with the results of their visits and flag any health risks that merit follow-up with their own doctors. Evidence suggests that 45% of dementia risk is modifiable, so this could make a difference in their lives. 

“We can prevent a lot of this disease if people are attentive to risk factors, which is why the fact that participants get their data is so important. It both informs and empowers the study participants,” said Thabele “Bay” Leslie-Mazwi, professor and chair of neurology at the UW School of Medicine. 

Adults ages 50 and older in the Shelton area who are interested in participating can call 206-744-6280 or email ruralbrainhealth@uw.edu. Information about additional communities joining the project will be shared on the Rural Brain Health Initiative website.

HD-Rural is supported by the National Institute on Aging (R01AG094513). The Shelton site was established with support from the BrightFocus Foundation and the Neurtex Brain Research Institute. The study team also includes Tasha Rhoads at UW Medicine, Ali Shojaie at the University of Washington, and Melissa Petersen, Sid O’Bryant, Raul Vintimilla and Fan Zhang at UNT Health Science Center.