NEUROPSYCHIATRY &NEUROCOGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN ELDERLY

Charles R. Drew University Of Med &Sci, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is a void in our current understanding of the neuropsychiatric symptoms, neurocognitive functioning, neuroimaging, and psychosocial/lifestyle factors associated with aging in African Americans. Often general health status of the participants has been left uncontrolled or poorly described, causes of dementia other than Alzheimer's Disease (AD) have not been examined, and depression and/or other psychiatric conditions have not been ruled out as influencing the results. There has been too frequent use of screening neuropsychological instruments, inattention to the potential mediating influences of lifestyle and psychosocial variables (such as religion, social support, substance use, and health), and the inclusion of African Americans as subjects in most studies has ranged from minimal to none. There has been limited attention to longitudinal aspects of changes in neuropsychiatric and neurocognitive domains as well as in quality of life (QOL) in African American senior populations.