Alzheimer disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia in older people. Despite years of research, the question of whether men and women differ in risk of disease remains controversial. Prospective studies of disease risk have had mixed results. Of 8 population-based studies with at least 2 years of observation,^1-8 5 reported a greater risk of AD in women^1,2,5-7 and the other 3 found no difference.^3,4,8 There are several potential explanations for the discrepant results. Because more women live to ages at which the disease is common, some studies may not have had sufficient numbers of cases of disease in older men to adequately adjust for the confounding effect of age. Men and women also differ with respect to education, occupation, and related lifestyle variables that are also associated with risk of AD. These variables may not be completely accounted for by statistical analyses. Other issues include methodological differences between incidence studies, including observation time, number of evaluations, attrition rate, and diagnostic accuracy.

As the US elderly population continues to expand rapidly, Alzheimer’s disease poses a major and increasing public health challenge, and older African Americans may be disproportionately burdened by...

The Minority Aging Research Study (MARS) is a longitudinal, epidemiologic cohort study of decline in cognitive function and risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in older African Americans, with brain donation after death added as an optional component for those willing to consider organ donation. In this manuscript, we first summarize the study design and methods of MARS. We then provide details of ongoing efforts to achieve neuropathologic data on over 100 African Americans participating in MARS and in three other clinical-pathologic cohort studies at Rush University Medical Center. The results examine strategies for recruiting and consenting African Americans without dementia; 2) efforts to maintain high rates of follow-up participation; 3) strategies for achieving high rates of agreement to brain donation; and 4) the methodology of obtaining rapid brain autopsy at death. The implications of these efforts are discussed.

Objectives: To examine the prevalence of perceived discrimination in an older biracial population and to examine its correlation with depressive symptoms. Methods: The sample consisted of 2,652 Blacks and 1,630 Whites, 68 years old and older, from the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP). Perceived discrimination was measured with a nine-item scale developed by Williams, Yu, Jackson, and Anderson (1997). Results: Afactor analysis of the discrimination scale revealed two subscales, unfair treatment and personal rejection. Blacks scored higher on both subscales as compared with Whites. In linear regression models, race was significantly associated with higher levels of unfair treatment and personal rejection, controlling for demographic variables and socioeconomic status (SES). Each subscale was also positively related to depressive symptoms, and these effects did not vary by race. Discussion: These findings suggest that older Blacks perceive more discrimination than do older Whites. This may have important implications for health differences between older Blacks and Whites.