ISER-N

International Labor Migration, Armed Conflict, and Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementia Risk in Nepal: 2022-ongoing

Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD) Research in Nepal

Investigating the scope and determinants of ADRD in Nepal's aging population

SUMMARY

Population aging is becoming increasingly more common in many low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). As a result, these countries face the growing burden of common age-associated chronic illnesses, including Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD).

Nepal is a low-middle-income country where the population is now aging, putting a rising number of adults at risk of developing ADRD. There is little or no research in Nepal to investigate the scope and primary determinants of ADRD, and even the most basic information on ADRD is currently lacking.

There is an urgent need to build expertise in designing and conducting systematic population-level investigations of ADRD in Nepal. There is an equally urgent need to start collecting rigorous new data on the scope and determinants of ADRD and other aging-related changes in health to guide the development of prevention strategies and reduce the burden of ADRD in Nepal.

OBJECTIVES

  1. Build research capacity for the conduct of studies of ADRD and other aging-related changes in health. Specific capacity-building activities focus on:
    • the design and administration of culturally appropriate cognitive assessments to identify ADRD in the general population, and
    • building expertise in statistical methods for the analysis of longitudinal data from complex surveys.
  2. Design and conduct a population-based study of ADRD and other age-associated conditions of adults aged > 50 years and complete a baseline interview and one follow-up interview two years later with these adults and informants/caregivers.
  3. Estimate the prevalence and incidence of ADRD and its primary clinical feature: cognitive impairment; test associations between primary risk factors and ADRD/cognitive impairment and other relevant outcomes (e.g., disability, caregiving needs) at baseline and follow-up.

METHODOLOGY

Study design

This is a longitudinal cohort study of a representative sample of 4,000 older adults aged >50 and their 4,000 key informants/caregivers from the Chitwan Valley Family Study (CVFS) panel, based on a stratified two-stage cluster area probability sampling.

Survey Data Collection

Using Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) instruments, face-to-face Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) is administered on tablets. The interview includes a series of cognitive and physical function tests, standardized self-report instruments and measures, a brief informant interview, and an assessment of weight, height, and blood pressure.

Biomarker Data Collection

A team of licensed and trained phlebotomists draw 32.5 ml of blood during the single blood draw using a vacuum extraction system.

OUTCOME

Data

Data will be available upon completion.

Publications

No publications yet.

CONTACT PERSON

Dr. Dirgha Jibi Ghimire

✉ dirghaiser@outlook.com

PROJECT DETAILS

Project Type/Duration

Ongoing/2022-2027

Working District

Chitwan

Thematic Area

Non-communicable disease, Alzheimer's disease and Related dementias (ADRD), International out-migration

Collaborators

University of Michigan
Institute for Social and Environmental Research-Nepal
Norvic International Hospital
Tribhuvan University

Research Team

Dr. Dirgha J. Ghimire
Research Professor
University of Michigan,
Executive Director of ISER-N
Dr. Carlos Mendes de Leon
Professor of Epidemiology,
University of Michigan
Dr. Emily Briceno-Abreu
Clinical Neuropsychologist and Clinical Associate Professor,
University of Michigan
Dr. Colter Mitchell
Associate Professor
University of Michigan
Dr. Uttam Sharma
Co-Investigator, Researcher,
ISER-N
Dr. Kenneth M. Langa
Cyrus Sturgis Professor- of Medicine,
University of Michigan
Dr. Meeta Sainju Pradhan
Sociologist and Research Scientist,
ISER-N
Dr. Pankaj Jalan
Neurologist,
ISER-N
Dr. Janak Rai
Cultural Anthropologist and Associate Professor,
Tribhuvan University

Funding

National Institutes of Health (NIH)