• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Search

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington IU Bloomington

Open Search
  • Undergraduate
    • Majors & Degrees
    • Minors & Certificates
    • Courses & Advising
      • Course Listing
      • Physical Activity Instruction Program
    • How to Apply
    • Costs and Finances
    • Contact & Visit
    • Virtual Tour
  • Masters
    • Majors & Degrees
    • Online program
    • How to Apply
      • International
      • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Courses & Advising
      • Course Listing
    • Costs and Financial Aid
    • Continuing Education
    • Certificates
    • Contact & Visit
    • Virtual Tour
  • Doctoral
    • Majors
    • How to Apply
      • International
      • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Courses & Advising
      • Course Listing
    • Costs and Financial Aid
    • Continuing Education
    • Contact & Visit Us
    • Virtual Tour
  • Career Services
    • Career Coaching
    • Student Outcomes
    • Recruit with Us
  • Student Experience
    • Life in the School of Public Health
    • Classroom Experience
    • Honors Program
    • Living Learning Center
    • Study Abroad
    • Research Day
  • Faculty & Research
    • Faculty Directory
      • Emeriti Faculty
    • Postdoctoral Fellows & Research Associates Directory
    • Centers and Institutes
    • Departments
      • Applied Health Science
      • Environmental and Occupational Health
      • Epidemiology and Biostatistics
      • Health & Wellness Design
      • Kinesiology
    • Bìguān 闭关
    • Book: It's About Knowing
    • Papers Published
  • Alumni & Giving
    • Ways to Give
    • Ways to Get Involved
    • Dean’s Alliance
    • Alumni Association Board
    • Distinguished Alumni Awards
  • About
    • Dean’s Welcome Message
    • Administration
    • Offices
    • People at the School
    • Accreditation
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Report of Diversity Initiatives 2020
      • Report of Diversity Initiatives 2019
      • School's Diversity Plan
      • Programming and Initiatives
      • Panorama
      • Campus Partners and Community Resources
    • Join our Team: Faculty/Academic Appointments
    • Join our Team: Staff Positions
    • Contact
    • Virtual Tour
  • Current SPH Students
    • Advising
    • Career Services
    • Internships
    • Financial Support
      • Scholarships
      • Fellowships
      • Fellowship & Scholarship Application
        • Fellowship & Scholarship Application: FAQs
    • Study Abroad
    • Student Organizations
    • Forms
    • Student Diversity & Inclusion
    • Graduation
    • Contact
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Distinguished Colloquium Speaker Series
      • Past Speakers
    • For Media Professionals

School of Public Health

  • Home
  • Undergraduate
    • Majors & Degrees
    • Minors & Certificates
    • Courses & Advising
    • How to Apply
    • Costs and Finances
    • Contact & Visit
    • Virtual Tour
  • Masters
    • Majors & Degrees
    • Online program
    • How to Apply
    • Courses & Advising
    • Costs and Financial Aid
    • Continuing Education
    • Certificates
    • Contact & Visit
    • Virtual Tour
  • Doctoral
    • Majors
    • How to Apply
    • Courses & Advising
    • Costs and Financial Aid
    • Continuing Education
    • Contact & Visit Us
    • Virtual Tour
  • Career Services
    • Career Coaching
    • Student Outcomes
    • Recruit with Us
  • Student Experience
    • Life in the School of Public Health
    • Classroom Experience
    • Honors Program
    • Living Learning Center
    • Study Abroad
    • Research Day
  • Faculty & Research
    • Faculty Directory
    • Postdoctoral Fellows & Research Associates Directory
    • Centers and Institutes
    • Departments
    • Bìguān 闭关
    • Book: It's About Knowing
    • Papers Published
  • Alumni & Giving
    • Ways to Give
    • Ways to Get Involved
    • Dean’s Alliance
    • Alumni Association Board
    • Distinguished Alumni Awards
  • About
    • Dean’s Welcome Message
    • Administration
    • Offices
    • People at the School
    • Accreditation
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    • Join our Team: Faculty/Academic Appointments
    • Join our Team: Staff Positions
    • Contact
    • Virtual Tour
  • Search
  • Current SPH Students
  • News & Events
  • Home
  • News & Events
  • News
  • 2021
  • IU researchers studying the role of social and economic exposures on people developing dementia

IU researchers studying the role of social and economic exposures on people developing dementia

Friday, February 19, 2021

Molly Rosenberg

By 2050, 75 percent of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia cases will occur in low- and middle-income regions, such as rural South Africa. What role do social and economic exposures play in whether or not people develop dementia in old age?

A project by Indiana University and partner universities will determine how socioeconomic exposures in mid-to-later-life affect memory decline and Alzheimer's disease and related dementia risk. The project is funded through a $2 million National Institutes of Health grant.

"As the world's population ages, Alzheimer's disease and dementia are on the rise," said Molly Rosenberg, assistant professor at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington and lead investigator on the study. "We know that people's economic situations likely contribute to their risks for Alzheimer's disease, but very little research is actually conducted in low-income areas. This study in rural South Africa helps fill this gap by answering questions about how income expansions at different key points in the lifespan might protect against cognitive aging and dementia in older ages."

Rosenberg said there is a critical gap in our understanding of how low-income settings and socioeconomic status can best be targeted by interventions to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Researchers are studying a cohort of older adults in rural, low-income South Africa and collecting cognitive data on them as they age.

The study is unique because researchers are able to link back to over three decades of socioeconomic data, such as whether the recipients were part of social protection programs (government programs equivalent to welfare, social security, etc.) in earlier life, to see what sort of influence those earlier life exposures have on cognitive aging outcomes.

"Specifically, we will be able to look at whether mid-life food security, employment, or household assets influence dementia risk by linking our cohort of older adults back to these census data that have been collected in the study site since 1992," Rosenberg said. "We will recreate what their socioeconomic conditions were when they were younger and see the associations with dementia."

The data will help determine the impact of cumulative exposure to disadvantageous socioeconomic conditions on Alzheimer's disease and dementia and how such exposure affects both men and women. The researchers' goal is to inform gender-equitable socioeconomic status interventions to prevent or delay Alzheimer's disease and dementia in low-income settings.

"This work will help prevention strategies not only in sub-Saharan Africa, where there is currently little data outside of this study, but also for guiding interventions in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias prevention programs globally," Rosenberg said.

Coady Wing and Janet Jock at the IU O'Neill School, Rishika Chakraborty at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, and researchers from the University of Michigan, Harvard, UNC, and the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg) are also partners in the study.

  • News
  • Events
  • Distinguished Colloquium Speaker Series
  • For Media Professionals

Additional links and resources

  • Information for:
    • Current Students

      • Academic Forms Online
      • Academic Forms Download
      • Advising
      • Career Services
      • Internships
    • Faculty / Staff

      • Grant Administration Office
      • Dean's Office Guidelines
      • Academic Council Guidelines
      • HR Toolkit
      • Faculty / Staff Online Forms
  • Quick Links
    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
    • Faculty Directory
    • News
    • Events
    • Alumni
    • Giving
  • Join our Team
    • Administration & Faculty positions
    • Staff positions
  • Undergraduate Programs
    • Degrees & Majors
    • How to Apply
    • Contact
  • Master's Programs
    • Degrees & Majors
    • How to Apply
    • Contact
  • Doctoral Programs
    • Majors
    • How to Apply
    • Contact
  • Key Websites
    • Online Programs & Certificates
    • THRIVE Living-Learning Center
    • Grant Administration Office
    • Internships
    • Public Health Partnerships
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

School of Public Health-Bloomington
1025 E. 7th Street,
Suite 111
Bloomington, IN 47405

Phone: 812-855-1561
Fax: 812-855-4983

Indiana University

Accessibility | Privacy Notice | Copyright © 2023 The Trustees of Indiana University