Otto Pedraza, Ph.D.

Feasibility of an Epidemiological Study of MCI in African American Elders

Recent efforts to identify individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) have focused on mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a diagnostic category that is thought to reflect the intermediate stage between normal cognition and dementia. Studies suggest that MCI is a heterogeneous condition and not all individuals diagnosed with MCI progress inexorably toward dementia. In fact, some individuals with MCI remain stable or improve over time. Numerous studies are currently exploring factors that may be associated with MCI heterogeneity to best identify those individuals who are likely to progress to dementia versus those who may remain stable.

The risk of AD and other dementias are proportionally greater for African American than for Caucasian elders. However, few studies of MCI include African American participants or evaluate predictors of progression to early dementia that are specific to this ethnic group. Our ultimate goal is to conduct a large, epidemiological study in Duval county (Jacksonville), Florida, to study MCI heterogeneity in African Americans. It is expected that such a study will help us identify and understand the health, genetic, and psychosocial factors that may uniquely predict progression from MCI to dementia in African American elders.