Increasing racial and ethnic diversity is the hallmark of United States demography. For example, in 2011, 13% of the population classified themselves as African American and nearly 17% classified themselves of Hispanic or Latino origin and these percentages are expected to increase substantially in the near future. Diversity among older individuals is similarly increasing with self-identified minorities expected to increase to 20% with most minority adults being of Latino origin by 2020.

By leveraging the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) cohort, we plan to examine the impact of disparities in vascular risk factors on brain health utilizing cutting edge MRI techniques within a large, understudied population of diverse Latinos spanning the age range of risk for stroke and dementia. We will also characterize the biological substrates of stroke, MCI and AD among the various racial admixtures in this deeply phenotyped cohort.

NIH RePORTER