In the United States (U.S.), older underrepresented and minority (URM) adults are at increased risk of Alzheimer?s disease and related dementias (ADRD) compared with their white counterparts. There is a critical need to understand the role that sociocultural, behavioral, and environmental determinants play in the production and persistence of these racial disparities in ADRD. It is important to educate a racially diverse group of scientists in the use of population-based datasets to help inform secondary analyses that can answer such questions. The Analysis Core (AnC) aims to: (1) provide support in population-based secondary data management, analysis, and programming to AD-RCMAR Scientists to enhance the methodological rigor of their pilot projects and ensure their success; (2) develop additional resources to facilitate use and analysis of the population-based datasets Carolina Center on Alzheimer?s Disease and Minority Research (CCADMR) will support; (3) provide support in the dissemination of pilot project findings at the local, regional, and national levels, and (4) provide continuing support to AD-RCMAR Scientists as they develop their subsequent proposals based on pilot study findings for submission to National Institute of Aging (NIA) or similar funding sources. The AnC will provide the data management and analysis infrastructure for the AD-RCMAR as well as train AD-RCMAR Scientists in rigorous methodological approaches to population-based ADRD research focused on identifying and understanding determinants of ADRD. The AnC will provide mentoring and research education in effective data management, analysis, interpretation of theoretically informed research questions, and translation of analyses into presentations and publications. The AnC will also support AD-RCMAR Scientists in the use of population-based datasets, including the South Carolina Alzheimer?s Disease Registry, the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The AnC is well-prepared to mentor AD-RCMAR Scientists. Not only are the Co-Leads nationally recognized scholars in biostatistics and population science, the AnC provides access to the South Carolina Alzheimer?s Disease Registry, which is the nation?s oldest and most comprehensive state-wide registry of diagnosed cases of ADRD, which is linkable to a variety of social and health-related datasets. These strengths and innovative characteristics of AnC will enable it to contribute to the mentoring of a cadre of URM scientists in rigorous methodological and analytic approaches suitable for answering complex questions about the sociocultural, behavioral, and environmental determinants of ADRD health disparities. The educational opportunities provided by the AnC will increase the number of URM Scientists trained in the effective use of secondary analyses to address ADRD disparities in the Southeast U.S. The education will also enhance the rigor and impact of the work conducted on determinants of ADRD.
