How education shapes dementia risk across countries, generations, and sexes
Official title: Differences in the association of education with ADRD across countries, historical eras, and men and women
Funded at University of Southern California · NIH-11508133 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looking at how different levels of education relate to dementia risk for adults across countries, birth cohorts, and between men and women.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Southern California NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | May 15, 2024 |
| Project end | February 28, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $67,098 |
| NIH project number | 3R01AG081248-03S2 |
| Project ID | NIH-11508133 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults from diverse countries and birth cohorts, especially older adults and participants in long-term twin or aging studies, best match the kinds of data this project uses.
✕Less likely to help
People seeking immediate clinical treatments, children, or those not enrolled in the long-term cohorts are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this observational research.
What this research studies
This project combines data from 18 long-term twin studies around the world to compare education, occupations, and later-life memory and dementia outcomes. Researchers will harmonize education measures across countries and birth cohorts and use twin comparisons to separate genetic from social influences. They will examine how changes in access to schooling for different generations and for men versus women relate to dementia risk. The work analyzes existing longitudinal human data rather than testing new treatments or interventions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal social and genetic contributors to dementia risk and guide policies or programs aimed at reducing that risk linked to educational inequality.
How similar studies have gone: Many prior studies have linked higher education to lower dementia risk, but using harmonized international twin data to examine changes across countries, generations, and sexes is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Finch, Brian K. — University of Southern California
- Study coordinator: Finch, Brian K.
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.