The African American Dementia and Aging Project (AADAPt): An Oregon-based Longitudinal Study

Objectives. The vast majority of studies on aging, cognition, and dementia focus on non-Hispanic white subjects. This paper adds to the extant literature by providing insight into the African American aging experience. Here we describe the study design and baseline characteristics of the African American Dementia and Aging Project (AADAPt) study, which is exploring aging and cognition in African American older adults in Oregon. Methods. African American older adults (n=177) participated in AADAPt, a longitudinal study that collected data on cognitive, physical, and social functioning in annual visits since 2000. Results. AADAPt participants had risk factors for developing dementia in future, such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia, but also reported protective factors such as high social engagement. Conclusions. The AADAPt project offers new insights into aging in older African Americans that includes data on cognition, social engagement, and physical health, which are crucial for understanding the experience of under-represented groups and making future studies more inclusive. Clinical Implications. These findings reflect a window of time for a geographically-focused cohort, and the lessons learned from this study likely have broader implications for shaping the health of these older African American adults. ### Competing Interest Statement Dr. Pierce has received research funding from the following pharmaceutical companies: Alector, Biohaven, Cognition Therapeutics, Eisai, Eli Lilly, Vivoryon Therapeutics Dr. Kaye has received research support awarded to his institution, Oregon Health & Science University from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, the Digital Medicine Society, and AbbVie. He has been directly compensated for serving on Data Safety Monitoring Committees for Eli Lilly and Ionis Pharmaceuticals, and as an external Advisory Committee member for the Rush and Stanford University Alzheimers Disease Research Centers. He receives reimbursement through Medicare or commercial insurance plans for providing clinical assessment and care for patients. He serves uncompensated on the editorial advisory board and as Associate Editor of the journal, Alzheimers & Dementia. OHSU and Dr. Kaye have a financial interest in Life Analytics, Inc., a company that is developing remote monitoring software technology. Dr. Lindauer receives support awarded to her institution, Oregon Health & Science University from the National Institutes of Health and from Rochester University as Safety Officer on an NIA study. Dr. Croff has received research support awarded to her institution, Oregon health & Science University (OHSU) from the National Institute on Aging, and from the Alzheimers Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Bonds Johnson has received research support awarded to her institution, Emory University, from the National Institutes of Health and internal funding from the Goizueta Alzheimers Disease Research Center Research Education Component. She has been directly compensated for serving on as an external advisory committee member for the National Alliance for Caregiving Understanding and Advancing Family Caregiver Mental Health Wellbeing Advisory Committee, faculty expert for the Alzheimers Association Dementia Care ECHO Program for Georgia Primary Care and Federally Qualified Health Centers and Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program Coordinating Center Age-Friendly Health Systems Action Community, and scientific reviewer for PCORIs 2021 and 2023 Cycle 3 Healthy Aging Optimizing Physical and Mental Functioning Across the Aging Continuum. She serves uncompensated on the editorial advisory board of the journal, The Gerontologist. ### Funding Statement National Institute on Aging, P30AG66518 ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The protocol is approved by the Oregon Health & Science University Institutional Review Board (#00001480) and all participants provided written informed consent prior to engaging in study procedures. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Data is available from the National Alzheimers Coordinating Center Repository.