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97 Exploring Urban-Rural Disparities in Alzheimer’s disease: Clinical characterization of a southern Nevada cohort
- Justin B Miller, Christina Wong, Jessica ZK Caldwell, Jeffrey L Cummings, Samantha E John, Jayde Powell, Kaley Brouwers, Jessica Rodrigues, Kimberly Cobos, Raelynn de la Cruz, Aaron Ritter
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 397-399
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Objective:
As the US population ages, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/RD) is on the rise. This is especially true in rural America, where mortality rates due to AD/RD are rising faster than in metropolitan areas. To date, however, people living in rural communities are severely underrepresented in aging research. The Nevada Exploratory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (NVeADRC) seeks to address this gap. Here, we present preliminary cognitive data from our rural-dwelling cohort, as well as relevant demographic and clinical characteristics.
Participants and Methods:Individuals with normal cognition (NC), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) living in rural communities, defined as a rural-urban commuting area (RUCA) code of 4 or higher, were enrolled through either clinic or community outreach. Eligibility for the observational cohort required: age >55 years, primarily English-speaking, primary residence in a rural community, and availability of a study partner. Measures included the Uniform Data Set (v3), blood-based biomarkers, structural brain MRI, and portions of the PhenX Social Determinants of Health toolkit. Participants are seen at baseline and followed annually, with interim remote visits every 6 months. A multidisciplinary consensus diagnosis is rendered after each visit. Where feasible, a harmonized urban cohort followed by the Nevada Center for Neurodegeneration and Translational Neuroscience (CNTN) was used for comparison.
Results:Fifty-six rural-dwelling (age=70.4±7.1 years; edu=15.2±2.6 years; 61% female) and 148 urban-dwelling (age=72.9±6.8 years; edu=15.8±2.7 years; 46% female) older adults were included; age significantly differed between cohorts but education did not. The rural cohort was 46% NC (MoCA=26.8±2.3; CDRsob=0.3±0.6), 32% MCI (MoCA=22.8±3.1; CDRsob=1.2±1.0), and 22% AD (MoCA=16.9±5.5; CDRsob=5.2±3.0). The urban cohort was 39% NC (MoCA=26.4±2.6; CDRsob=0.3±0.8), 44% MCI (MoCA=22.3±3.1; CDRsob=2.0±1.5) and 17% AD (MoCA=18.6±3.9; CDRsob=4.7±2.3). Rural communities were significantly more disadvantaged, as measured by the Area Deprivation Index (ADI), than urban communities (rural ADI=6.3±2.6; urban ADI=3.4±2.3; p<.001). Fifty-percent of the rural cohort lives in a moderate to severely disadvantaged neighborhood (ADI Decile>7) compared to 12% of the urban cohort, and 11% of individuals in the rural cohort reported living more than 30 miles from the nearest medical facility. Across the combined cohort, education was significantly correlated with ADI deciles (r=-.30, p<.001), with people in the areas of highest disadvantage having the lowest education. Verbal memory was also inversely associated with ADI. There were no differences in clinical diagnosis as a function of ADI rank.
Conclusions:Living in a rural community conveys a multifaceted array of risks and benefits, some of which differ from urban settings. The literature to date suggests that older adults living in rural communities are at significantly increased risk for morbidity and mortality due to AD/RD, though it is unclear why. Preliminary data from the NVeADRC show that increasing levels of neighborhood disadvantage were associated with lower levels of education and worse verbal memory in this convenience sample. The combined effect of low education and increased disadvantage account for some of the urban-rural differences in mortality that have been reported, though additional research on representative samples in this underrepresented population is critical.
Terrestrial bird population trends on Aguiguan (Goat Island), Mariana Islands
- FRED AMIDON, RICHARD J. CAMP, ANN P. MARSHALL, THANE K. PRATT, LAURA WILLIAMS, PAUL RADLEY, JUSTINE B. CRUZ
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- Journal:
- Bird Conservation International / Volume 24 / Issue 4 / December 2014
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 April 2014, pp. 505-517
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The island of Aguiguan is part of the Mariana archipelago and currently supports populations of four endemic species, including one endemic genus, Cleptornis. Bird population trends since 1982 were recently assessed on the neighbouring islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota indicating declines in some native species. Point-transect surveys were conducted in 2008 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to assess population densities and trends on Aguiguan. Densities for six of the nine native birds—White-throated Ground-dove Gallicolumba xanthonura, Collared Kingfisher Todiramphus chloris, Rufous Fantail Rhipidura rufifrons, Golden White-eye Cleptornis marchei, Bridled White-eye Zosterops conspicillatus and Micronesian Starling Aplonis opaca—and the non-native bird—Island Collared-dove Streptopelia bitorquata—were significantly greater in 2008 than in 1982. No differences in densities were detected among the surveys for Mariana Fruit-dove Ptilinopus roseicapilla, and Micronesian Myzomela Myzomela rubratra. Three federally and locally listed endangered birds—Nightingale Reed-warbler Acrocephalus luscinius, Mariana Swiftlet Collocalia bartschi, and Micronesian Megapode Megapodius laperous)—were either not detected during the point-transect counts, the surveys were not appropriate for the species, or the numbers of birds detected were too small to estimate densities. The factors behind the increasing trends for some species are unknown but may be related to increased forest cover on the island since 1982. With declining trends for some native species on neighbouring islands, the increasing and stable trends on Aguiguan is good news for forest bird populations in the region, as Aguiguan populations can help support conservation efforts on other islands in the archipelago.
Contributors
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- By Basem Abdelmalak, Joseph Abdelmalak, Alaa A. Abd-Elsayed, David L. Adams, Eric E. Adelman, Maged Argalious, Endrit Bala, Gene H. Barnett, Sheron Beltran, Andrew Bielaczyc, William Bingaman, James M. Blum, Alina Bodas, Vera Borzova, Richard Bowers, Adam Brown, Chad M. Brummett, Alexandra S. Bullough, James F. Burke, Juan P. Cata, Neeraj Chaudhary, Michael J. Claybon, Miguel Cruz, Milind Deogaonkar, Vikram Dhawan, Thomas Didier, D. John Doyle, Zeyd Ebrahim, Hesham Elsharkawy, Wael Ali Sakr Esa, Ehab Farag, Ryen D. Fons, Joseph J. Gemmete, Matt Giles, Phil Gillen, Goodarz Golmirzaie, Marcos Gomes, Lisa Grilly, Maged Guirguis, David W. Healy, Heather Hervey-Jumper, Shawn L. Hervey-Jumper, Paul E. Hilliard, Samuel A. Irefin, George K. Istaphanous, Teresa L. Jacobs, Ellen Janke, Greta Jo, James W. Jones, Rami Karroum, Allen Keebler, Stephen J. Kimatian, Colleen G. Koch, Robert Scott Kriss, Andrea Kurz, Jia Lin, Michael D. Maile, Negmeldeen F. Mamoun, Mariel Manlapaz, Edward Manno, Donn Marciniak, Piyush Mathur, Nicholas F. Marko, Matthew Martin, George A. Mashour, Marco Maurtua, Scott T. McCardle, Julie McClelland, Uma Menon, Paul S. Moor, Laurel E. Moore, Ruairi Moulding, Dileep R. Nair, Todd Nelson, Julie Niezgoda, Edward Noguera, Jerome O’Hara, Aditya S. Pandey, Mauricio Perilla, Paul Picton, Marc J. Popovich, J. Javier Provencio, Venkatakrishna Rajajee, Mohit Rastogi, Stacy Ritzman, Lauryn R. Rochlen, Leif Saager, Vivek Sabharwal, Oren Sagher, Kenneth Saliba, Milad Sharifpour, Lesli E. Skolarus, Paul Smythe, Wolf H. Stapelfeldt, William R. Stetler, Peter Stiles, Vijay Tarnal, Khoi D. Than, B. Gregory Thompson, Alparslan Turan, Christopher R. Turner, Justin Upp, Sumeet Vadera, Jennifer Vance, Anthony C. Wang, Robert J. Weil, Marnie B. Welch, Karen K. Wilkins, Erin S. Williams, George N. Youssef, Asma Zakaria, Sherif S. Zaky, Andrew Zura
- Edited by George A. Mashour, Ehab Farag
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- Book:
- Case Studies in Neuroanesthesia and Neurocritical Care
- Published online:
- 03 May 2011
- Print publication:
- 03 February 2011, pp x-xvi
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Conservation of the Dark-rumped Petrel Pterodroma phaeopygia of the Galápagos Islands, 1982–1991
- Justine B. Cruz, Felipe Cruz
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- Journal:
- Bird Conservation International / Volume 6 / Issue 1 / March 1996
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 11 May 2010, pp. 23-32
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Early work on the Dark-rumped Petrel Pterodroma phaeopygia of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, identified colony sites and population status and alerted wildlife managers to an alarming decline in nesting numbers. Predation by introduced mammals, such as rats, cats, pigs and dogs, is the chief concern, followed by loss of nesting habitat to agricultural development. Programmes to reduce predation through poisoning and hunting, begun in 1983, increased the number of chicks fledged from the main breeding colony in eight out of nine years. Pre-breeding adults were lured by tape-recordings to ‘safe’ sites where they successfully raised chicks in artificial nests. Tape-luring offers hope for establishing new colonies on predator-free islands.