Identifying risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in older Chinese immigrants
Currently, over 30 million people worldwide are living with Alzheimer's Disease. Including people that are designated preclinical and prodromal for Alzheimer's Disease, there are estimated to be over 400 million people globally comprising the Alzheimer's Disease continuum. Dr. Jinyu Liu, Dorothy Barfield Kronzer Endowed Professor in Family Studies at the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work (GSSW) in collaboration with Dr. Clara Li, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health of the United States Department of Health and Human Services to study preliminary data on the associations of cognition and immigration in older Chinese immigrants to the United States.
Dr. Liu states, "This study helps us understand mechanisms through which immigration experiences influence cognitive outcomes among the immigrant population and will guide the development of tailored interventions to prevent AD/ADRD (Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias)." By identifying contributing pre-immigration and post-immigration status stress factors, the goal is to better equip social work practitioners with intervention strategies to prevent Alzheimer's Disease and its effects on older adults worldwide.
This study is researching the impact of pre-immigration economic, educational, and other stress factors for people who immigrate from China to the United States, as well as post-immigration acculturation, language, and ongoing stress after locality change as contributing factors to Alzheimer's Disease onset and effects.
As these links are established and interventions are then developed, social work clinicians will have another level of skills as they intervene and work alongside people living with Alzheimer's Disease. The Garland School of Social Work is proud to say that the research Dr. Liu is involved in will shape the future of care and intervention for millions of people around the globe.
Learn more about Dr. Jinyu Liu.