The specific aims of the parent NIA grant (R01AG058679, MPIs: Rajan & Evans, 2019-2024) has three components: (1) Investigate factors, including behavioral and social factors, associated with epidemiologically- derived cognitive resilience in a biracial population study, the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP: Age 65+ years, 60% African Americans [AAs]); (2) Recruit a biracial offspring cohort, Parent Offspring Resilience and Cognitive Health (PORCH: Age: 40-64, 50% AAs) study; (3) Examine whether cognitive resilience in parents are associated with global cognition and risk of MCI and dementia in offspring. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has devastated global populations and has had a large impact in the United States. The transmission of COVID-19 is strongly influenced by population demographics, behavioral, and social characteristics, factors which might also have a substantial impact on cognitive function by increasing the risk of MCI and dementia in older parents and midlife offspring, and by reducing cognitive resilience in older parents, the primary outcomes of the parent grant. The one-year Administrative Supplement will test the feasibility of community-level COVID-19 testing through self-administered SARS-CoV-2 RNA nasal swab and fingerstick antibodies testing. Crucially, it can provide preliminary data on the impact of COVID-19 infections, and behavioral and social factors, such as, household environment, pandemic stress, and social distancing on cognitive health in 100 older CHAP parents and 100 midlife PORCH offspring with 50% AAs. This administrative supplement will conduct a feasibility study to test SARS-CoV-2 antigens and antibodies in a well characterized, ethnically diverse, community-based parent-offspring study with a large number of AAs. Additionally, provide feasibility to enhance the research value of the parent PORCH study by expanding parent grant Aims 1 and 3 through adding COVID-19 to the exposures leading to decreased parental cognitive resilience and expanding parent grant Aim 3 by adding behavioral and social characteristics and COVID-19 to the exposures leading to impaired offspring MRI Indices, cognitive performance and BP, and feasibility to examine possible racial/ethnic differences in these effects.
The recent COVID-19 outbreak has had a devastating impact on US communities and presented a severe public health problem with wide-reaching consequences. The impact of COVID-19 on cognitive resilience and risk of MCI and Alzheimer?s dementia needs serious consideration. The proposed supplement will address health disparities and inequities of how COVID-19 impacts cognitive health in two community-based population studies of older parents and midlife offspring with 50% African Americans.
