Research
On average, Black persons appear to age prematurely, live sicker, and die earlier than the overall population. We aim to understand how stress leads to premature aging and what can be done to halt and reverse this trend. More specifically, we study how social factors (e.g., racialization, financial status, and social support) and structural factors (e.g., residential segregation, generational poverty, and governmental policies) impact the physiology of Black persons, and why they affect some individuals more than others. We are particularly interested in the effects of stress on aging outcomes, such as cardiovascular and Alzheimer’s disease, and how accelerated biological aging impacts this relationship. Further, we explore these research areas from a strengths-based rather than deficit-based approach: Black communities have already developed coping mechanisms that extend lifespan beyond what is predicted. We believe that if we can understand these coping mechanisms and utilize them as interventions, we can create better health for all Black populations.
R01HL175599 – Residential segregation and physiological dysregulation among Black CARDIA participants: A longitudinal study; 2024-2029
Summary: Although research linking race-based residential segregation to health outcomes has been conducted for decades, there is currently a lack of understanding of how exposure to residential segregation affects the universal aging process that underlies development of chronic disease. The overall objectives of this research are (i) to measure the association between residential segregation and age acceleration over the adult life course; and (ii) identify the mechanisms through which living in a segregated neighborhood affects age acceleration. The central hypothesis is that exposure to residential segregation over the adult life course is associated with worse (higher) clinical marker-derived age acceleration, a marker of stress-related cumulative physiological dysregulation. The central hypothesis will be tested by pursuing three specific aims: 1) Determine the relationship of exposure to levels of residential segregation and age acceleration in adulthood in Black CARDIA participants; 2) Identify neighborhood-level mediators of the relationship between residential segregation and age acceleration; and 3) Using a life-course lens, determine if timing and length of exposure to residential segregation affects its relationship with age acceleration. research shows structural racism and its downstream consequences, termed the social determinants of health (SDOH), produce racial disparities in health outcomes but far less work has examined how structural racism affects the aging process that is the basis for many chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, stroke). Even less work has examined how the timing of exposure to structural and social determinants of health (S/SDOH) during the life course affects aging, making this project of vital importance.
Alzheimer’s Association International Research Grant - Life course BP trajectories and time to dementia in Black aging persons; 2024 - 2027
Summary: The overall aim of this study is to examine trajectories of blood pressure (BP) over the adult life course (20-90 years of age) and how they influence time to dementia in a pooled Black/African American (AA) cohort. We will create a synthetic cohort of approximately 7,200 Black/AA persons over the adult life course using a joint multilevel imputation model that has previously been used to successfully impute life course cardiovascular risk factors in a large, pooled dataset. We will use previously harmonized data from the Dementia Risk Prediction Pooling Project (DRPP), a pooled cohort including over 11 cohort studies. We will then utilize latent growth curve modeling (LGCM) to model trajectories of BP from age 20 until late life, stratified by sex, and survival analysis to determine the association between the trajectories and time to dementia. The proposed study will uncover trajectories of BP across the life course among Black/AA adults and how these trajectories influence time to dementia. The unique stressors faced by Black/AA persons (e.g., racism) are associated with the development of hypertension. Black/AA persons have the highest rates of hypertension and are twice as likely to have dementia as White aging persons. However, much of the previous work in this area has been done with either primarily White populations or comparing Black/AA and White populations. To create interventions that work for populations that have faced and continue to face unique challenges, we must first understand predictors of disease within these populations. This study will provide important understanding of how BP over the life course, rather than just a disease state (e.g., hypertension) or one time point (e.g., midlife) influences time to dementia among Black/AA aging persons.