How life circumstances affect brain aging in people with end-stage kidney disease

Social Determinants of Health, Resilience, and Premature Cognitive Aging in End-stage Renal Disease

NIH-funded research New York University School of Medicine · NIH-11472074

This project looks at how neighborhood, income, education, and personal resilience relate to earlier memory and thinking problems in adults with end-stage kidney disease.

Quick facts

Grant typeR01 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionNew York University School of Medicine NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (New York, United States)
Project IDNIH-11472074 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

From a patient's perspective, researchers will link national dialysis registry records and Medicare data to information about 14 social and neighborhood factors across five areas like economic stability and education. They will compare thinking and daily function across the adult lifespan, including younger and older adults on dialysis, and pay special attention to Black patients who face higher risk. The team will also study resilience factors that might protect thinking skills despite social disadvantages. Findings will aim to explain why cognitive decline happens earlier in many people with end-stage kidney disease and point to where supports might help.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Adults with end-stage kidney disease (on dialysis) who appear in the national ESRD registry or Medicare databases are the primary population for this work.

Not a fit: People without end-stage kidney disease or those not included in the national registry/Medicare data are unlikely to be part of this project and will not directly benefit from its findings.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal social and community targets for programs that prevent or delay memory and thinking problems in people with end-stage kidney disease.

How similar studies have performed: Prior research has shown high rates of cognitive impairment in dialysis patients and links between social factors and cognitive health, but this large, nationwide SDOH-focused approach across the lifespan is relatively new.

Where this research is happening

New York, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.