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INTRODUCTION: Leveraging the nonmonolithic structure of Latin America, which represents a large variability in social determinants of health (SDoH) and high levels of genetic admixture, we aim to evaluate the relative contributions of SDoH and genetic ancestry in predicting dementia prevalence in Latin American populations. METHODS: Community-dwelling participants aged 65 and older (N = 3808) from Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Peru completed the 10/66 protocol assessments. Dementia was diagnosed using the cross-culturally validated 10/66 algorithm. Multivariate linear regression models adjusted for SDoH were used in the main analysis. This study used cross-sectional data from the 1066 population-based study. RESULTS: Individuals with higher proportions of Native American (>70%) and African American (>70%) ancestry were more likely to exhibit factors contributing to worse SDoH, such as lower educational levels (p

Two of every three persons living with dementia reside in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The projected increase in global dementia rates is expected to affect LMICs disproportionately. However, the majority of global dementia care costs occur in high-income countries (HICs), with dementia research predominantly focusing on HICs. This imbalance necessitates LMIC-focused research to ensure that characterization of dementia accurately reflects the involvement and specificities of diverse populations. Development of effective preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic approaches for dementia in LMICs requires targeted, personalized, and harmonized efforts. Our article represents timely discussions at the 2022 Symposium on Dementia and Brain Aging in LMICs that identified the foremost opportunities to advance dementia research, differential diagnosis, use of neuropsychometric tools, awareness, and treatment options. We highlight key topics discussed at the meeting and provide future recommendations to foster a more equitable landscape for dementia prevention, diagnosis, care, policy, and management in LMICs. HIGHLIGHTS: Two-thirds of persons with dementia live in LMICs, yet research and costs are skewed toward HICs. LMICs expect dementia prevalence to more than double, accompanied by socioeconomic disparities. The 2022 Symposium on Dementia in LMICs addressed advances in research, diagnosis, prevention, and policy. The Nairobi Declaration urges global action to enhance dementia outcomes in LMICs.

INTRODUCTION: Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is considered the major susceptibility gene for developing Alzheimers disease. However, the strength of this risk factor is not well established across diverse Hispanic populations. METHODS: We investigated the associations among APOE genotype, dementia prevalence, and memory performance (immediate and delayed recall scores) in Caribbean Hispanics (CH), African Americans (AA), Hispanic Americans (HA) and non-Hispanic White Americans (NHW). Multivariable logistic regressions and negative binomial regressions were used to examine these associations by subsample. RESULTS: Our final dataset included 13,516 participants (5198 men, 8318 women) across all subsamples, with a mean age of 74.8 years. Prevalence of APOE ε4 allele was similar in CHs, HAs, and NHWs (21.8%-25.4%), but was substantially higher in AAs (33.6%; P

Limited knowledge on dementia biomarkers in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries remains a serious barrier. Here, we reported a survey to explore the ongoing work, needs, interests, potential barriers, and opportunities for future studies related to biomarkers. The results show that neuroimaging is the most used biomarker (73%), followed by genetic studies (40%), peripheral fluids biomarkers (31%), and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers (29%). Regarding barriers in LAC, lack of funding appears to undermine the implementation of biomarkers in clinical or research settings, followed by insufficient infrastructure and training. The survey revealed that despite the above barriers, the region holds a great potential to advance dementia biomarkers research. Considering the unique contributions that LAC could make to this growing field, we highlight the urgent need to expand biomarker research. These insights allowed us to propose an action plan that addresses the recommendations for a biomarker framework recently proposed by regional experts.

BACKGROUND: Despite the high burden of Alzheimers disease and other dementias among the Hispanic population worldwide, little is known about how dementia affects healthcare utilizations among this population outside of the US, in particular among those in the Caribbean region. OBJECTIVE: This study examines healthcare utilization associated with Alzheimers disease and other dementias among older adults in the Caribbean as compared to the US. METHODS: We conducted harmonized analyses of two population-based surveys, the 10/66 Dementia Group Research data collected in Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, and the US-based Health and Retirement Study. We examined changes in hospital nights and physician visits in response to incident and ongoing dementias. RESULTS: Incident dementia significantly increased the risk of hospitalization and number of hospital nights in both populations. Ongoing dementia increased the risk of hospitalization and hospital nights in the US, with imprecise estimates for the Caribbean. The number of physician visits was elevated in the US but not in the Caribbean. CONCLUSIONS: The concentration of increased healthcare utilization on hospital care and among patients with incident dementia suggests an opportunity for improved outpatient management of new and existing dementia patients in the Caribbean.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the burden of parkinsonism and Parkinsons disease (PD) in Latin America. Better understanding of health service use and clinical outcomes in PD is needed to improve its prognosis. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to estimate the burden of parkinsonism and PD in six Latin American countries. METHODS: 12,865 participants aged 65 years and older from the 10/66 population-based cohort study were analysed. Baseline assessments were conducted in 2003-2007 and followed-up 4 years later. Parkinsonism and PD were defined using current clinical criteria or self-reported diagnosis. Logistic regression models assessed the association between parkinsonism/PD with baseline health service use (community-based care or hospitalisation in the last 3 months) and Cox proportional hazards regression models with incident dependency (subjective assessment by interviewer based on informant interview) and mortality. Separate analyses for each country were combined via fixed effect meta-analysis. RESULTS: At baseline, the prevalence of parkinsonism and PD was 7.9% (n = 934) and 2.6% (n = 317), respectively. Only parkinsonism was associated with hospital admission at baseline (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.30-2.74). Among 7,296 participants without dependency at baseline, parkinsonism (HR 2.34, 95% CI 1.81-3.03) and PD (2.10, 1.37-3.24) were associated with incident dependency. Among 10,315 participants with vital status, parkinsonism (1.73, 1.50-1.99) and PD (1.38, 1.07-1.78) were associated with mortality. The Higgins I2 tests showed low to moderate levels of heterogeneity across countries. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that older people with parkinsonism or PD living in Latin America have higher risks of developing dependency and mortality but may have limited access to health services.

BackgroundAge and gender specific prevalence rates for parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease (PD) are important to guide research, clinical practice, and public health planning; however, prevalence estimates in Latin America (LatAm) are limited. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of parkinsonism and PD and examine related risk factors in a cohort of elderly individuals from Latin America (LatAm).MethodsData from 11,613 adults (65+ years) who participated in a baseline assessment of the 10/66 study and lived in six LatAm countries were analyzed to estimate parkinsonism and PD prevalence. Crude and age-adjusted prevalence were determined by sex and country. Diagnosis of PD was established using the UK Parkinson's Disease Society Brain Bank's clinical criteria.FindingsIn this cohort, the prevalence of parkinsonism was 8.0% (95% CI 7.6%-8.5%), and the prevalence of PD was 2.0% (95% CI 1.7%-2.3%). PD prevalence increased with age from 1.0 to 3.5 (65-69vs. 80 years or older, p

BackgroundCuba's life expectancy at 79 is third highest in Latin America. Many attribute this to social investments in health and education, but comparative research is sparse, thus we compare Cuba with neighboring Dominican Republic, Costa Rica due to its strong social protections, and the U.S. Given high cardiovascular mortality, we focus on cardiovascular risk factor levels. To assess the role of health care, we distinguish medically amenable biomarkers from behavioral risk factors. To assess the role of Cuba's focus on equity, we compare education gradients in risk factors.MethodsWe analyze Cuban data from the 10/66 Dementia Research Group baseline survey of urban adults ages 65 plus. Comparison samples are drawn from the Dominican Republic 10/66 survey, the Costa Rican CRELES, and U.S. NHANES. We analyze cross-country levels and education gradients of medically amenable (hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, access to health care) and behavioral (smoking, obesity) risk factors,-using sex-stratified weighted means comparisons and age-adjusted logistic regression.ResultsNeither medically amenable nor behavioral risk factors are uniformly better in Cuba than comparison countries. Obesity is lower in Cuba, but male smoking is higher. Hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia levels are high in all countries, though Cuba's are lower than Costa Rica. Hypertension awareness in Cuba is similar to Costa Rica. Cuba has a higher proportion of hypertensives on treatment than Costa Rica, though lower than the U.S. Comparative gradients by education are similarly mixed. For behavioral factors, Cuba shows the strongest gradients (primarily for men) among the countries compared: smoking improves, but obesity worsens with education. Hypertension awareness also improves with education in Cuba, but Cuba shows no significant differences by education in hypertension treatment.ConclusionSmoking is comparatively high in Cuba, but obesity is low, and the resulting biomarkers show comparatively mixed patterns. Cuba's social protections have not eliminated strong educational gradients in behavioral risk factors, but the healthcare system appears to have eliminated disparities such as in hypertension treatment.

IntroductionDespite high dementia prevalence in Hispanic populations globally, especially Caribbean Hispanics, no study has comparatively examined the association between education and dementia among Hispanics living in the Caribbean Islands and older adults in the United States.MethodsWe used data on 6107 respondents aged 65 and older in the baseline wave of the population-based and harmonized 10/66 survey from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, collected between 2003 and 2008, and 11,032 respondents aged 65 and older from the U.S.-based Health and Retirement Study data in 2014, a total of 17,139 individuals. We estimated multivariable logistic regression models examining the association between education and dementia, adjusted for age, income, assets, and occupation. The models were estimated separately for the Caribbean population (pooled and by setting) and the U.S. population by race/ethnicity (Hispanic, Black, and White), followed by pooled models across all populations.ResultsIn the Caribbean population, the relative risk of dementia among low versus high educated adults was 1.45 for women (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17, 1.74) and 1.92 (95% CI 1.35, 2.49) for men, smaller compared to those in the United States, especially among non-Hispanic Whites (women: 2.78, 95% CI 1.94, 3.61; men: 5.98, 95% CI 4.02, 7.95).DiscussionThe differential associations between education and dementia across the Caribbean and US settings may be explained by greater disparities in social conditions in the United States compared to the Caribbean, such as access to health care, healthy behaviors, and social stressors, which serve as potentially important mediators.

The SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic will disproportionately impact countries with weak economies and vulnerable populations including people with dementia. Latin American and Caribbean countries (LACs) are burdened with unstable economic development, fragile health systems, massive economic disparities, and a high prevalence of dementia. Here, we underscore the selective impact of SARS-CoV-2 on dementia among LACs, the specific strain on health systems devoted to dementia, and the subsequent effect of increasing inequalities among those with dementia in the region. Implementation of best practices for mitigation and containment faces particularly steep challenges in LACs. Based upon our consideration of these issues, we urgently call for a coordinated action plan, including the development of inexpensive mass testing and multilevel regional coordination for dementia care and related actions. Brain health diplomacy should lead to a shared and escalated response across the region, coordinating leadership, and triangulation between governments and international multilateral networks.

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) has reframed health and healthcare for older people around achieving the goal of healthy ageing. The recent WHO Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) guidelines focus on maintaining intrinsic capacity, i.e., addressing declines in neuromusculoskeletal, vitality, sensory, cognitive, psychological, and continence domains, aiming to prevent or delay the onset of dependence. The target group with 1 or more declines in intrinsic capacity (DICs) is broad, and implementation may be challenging in less-resourced settings. We aimed to inform planning by assessing intrinsic capacity prevalence, by characterising the target group, and by validating the general approach-testing hypotheses that DIC was consistently associated with higher risks of incident dependence and death. Methods and findings We conducted population-based cohort studies (baseline, 2003-2007) in urban sites in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, and rural and urban sites in Peru, Mexico, India, and China. Door-knocking identified eligible participants, aged 65 years and over and normally resident in each geographically defined catchment area. Sociodemographic, behaviour and lifestyle, health, and healthcare utilisation and cost questionnaires, and physical assessments were administered to all participants, with incident dependence and mortality ascertained 3 to 5 years later (2008-2010). In 12 sites in 8 countries, 17,031 participants were surveyed at baseline. Overall mean age was 74.2 years, range of means by site 71.3-76.3 years; 62.4% were female, range 53.4%-67.3%. At baseline, only 30% retained full capacity across all domains. The proportion retaining capacity fell sharply with increasing age, and declines affecting multiple domains were more common. Poverty, morbidity (particularly dementia, depression, and stroke), and disability were concentrated among those with DIC, although only 10% were frail, and a further 9% had needs for care. Hypertension and lifestyle risk factors for chronic disease, and healthcare utilisation and costs, were more evenly distributed in the population. In total, 15,901 participants were included in the mortality cohort (2,602 deaths/53,911 person-years of follow-up), and 12,939 participants in the dependence cohort (1,896 incident cases/38,320 person-years). One or more DICs strongly and independently predicted incident dependence (pooled adjusted subhazard ratio 1.91, 95% CI 1.69-2.17) and death (pooled adjusted hazard ratio 1.66, 95% CI 1.49-1.85). Relative risks were higher for those who were frail, but were also substantially elevated for the much larger sub-groups yet to become frail. Mortality was mainly concentrated in the frail and dependent sub-groups. The main limitations were potential for DIC exposure misclassification and attrition bias. Conclusions In this study we observed a high prevalence of DICs, particularly in older age groups. Those affected had substantially increased risks of dependence and death. Most needs for care arose in those with DIC yet to become frail. Our findings provide some support for the strategy of optimising intrinsic capacity in pursuit of healthy ageing. Implementation at scale requires community-based screening and assessment, and a stepped-care intervention approach, with redefined roles for community healthcare workers and efforts to engage, train, and support them in these tasks. ICOPE might be usefully integrated into community programmes for detecting and case managing chronic diseases including hypertension and diabetes., Author(s): Martin J. Prince 1,2,*, Daisy Acosta 3, Mariella Guerra 4,5, Yueqin Huang 6, K. S. Jacob 7, Ivonne Z. Jimenez-Velazquez 8, A. T. Jotheeswaran 9, Juan J. Llibre Rodriguez [...]

Background: Multicentric initiatives to study brain cognition in the elderly offers us a unique collection of brain imaging data accompanied by detailed neuroclinical and neuropsychological evaluations. U.S. POINTER and LatAm‐FINGERS, part of the World Wide FINGERS, are both large‐scale investigations of lifestyle interventions and its impact on cognitive function. These large‐scale detailed data may offer an unprecedented opportunity to compare diverse populations. Method: Baseline MRI of subjects from multiple US centers (POINTER‐US), distributed in 5 geographical regions, and from 9 latin‐american countries (LatAm‐FINGERS). The protocols vary from basic (3D T1, 3D FLAIR,T2* GRE, Cor T2 hippocampus, DWI) to advanced which also included ASL, rs‐FMRI and DTI. Demographic information and clinical, cognitive and neuropsychological assessment were also included. Result: MRI data was collected from 662 participants in the United States (about 65% of the total anticipated U.S. POINTER neuroimaging sample) and from 542 subjects from 9 countries in latin‐america (about 80% of the total anticipated LatAm‐FINGERS neuroimaging sample), with around 1200 participants scanned (table1). All participants have 3D T1, 3D FLAIR, T2* GRE images and either DWI or DTI images. Comparative demographics from the 2 datasets shows similar mean age, a predominance of females, and slight differences in education (table 2). This will allow us to compare multiethnic and multicultural volumetric and functional brain MRI information, as well as disease markers, associated with thorough neurological and clinical assessment. Reasons for not acquiring MRI were mainly due to claustrophobia or scanner unavailability. Conclusion: This is an exceptional opportunity to have comparative large‐scale databases, with anatomical and functional brain imaging from different populations, allowing us to study real world diverse brain data and better understand its relationships with demographics, health and risk characteristics, and cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID‐19 pandemic has impacted daily life worldwide, with possible negative consequences for cognitive health. Self‐reported cognitive symptoms are linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRDs). Identifying risk and protective factors for cognitive symptoms during the pandemic is an important step towards the development of ADRD prevention efforts. We aimed to examine correlates of cognitive symptoms among middle‐ and older‐age adults in Latin America before the availability of vaccines to prevent COVID‐19, including sociodemographic factors and changes in life. Method: Spanish‐speaking adults ages 55‐95 (N = 2,382, Table 1) living in Latin America completed an online survey between May and December 2020. Cognitive symptoms were assessed via the 12‐item Everyday Cognition (ECog) questionnaire. Negative (e.g., economic difficulties, limited social activities) and positive (e.g., more quality time with close others, increased time in nature/outside) life changes associated with the pandemic were measured via a subset of items from the Epidemic‐Pandemic Impacts Inventory. Sociodemographic factors included age, years of education, gender, occupation and socioeconomic status (SES). Covariates included time since March 2020 (estimated onset of the pandemic in Latin America), country of survey completion, and having experienced COVID‐19 symptoms. Multivariable linear regression models were ran on ECog total scores including covariates and sociodemographic factors (Model 1), and then adding terms for negative and positive life changes and their interaction (Model 2). Results: Model 1 showed female gender (p =.04), not currently working (p =.02) and lower SES (p<.001) were independently associated with more cognitive symptoms. Model 2 showed a significant interaction between negative and positive life changes (p<.001), indicating that negative life changes were significantly associated with more cognitive symptoms, but this association was weaker among participants who reported at least one positive life change during the pandemic (Figure 1). Conclusion: Cognitive symptoms might be more common among certain segments of the Latin American population, including women, and those who are not working and have low SES. The experience of positive life changes during the pandemic might buffer the detrimental impact of negative life changes on cognitive symptoms. These risk and protective factors might be considered in ADRD prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]