How lifetime cash payments relate to memory and dementia risk in rural South Africa
Cumulative socioeconomic exposures, cash transfer interventions, and later-life cognitive decline and dementia risk in a low-income region of South Africa
This project looks at whether regular government cash payments to families can help protect thinking and memory as people age in a low-income South African region.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Trustees of Indiana University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Bloomington, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11160779 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you live in rural South Africa, this project links long-term health surveys, a past randomized cash transfer trial, and regional census records to see how receiving cash at different ages, amounts, and durations relates to memory and dementia later in life. The team connects data from the HAALSI aging cohort, the HPTN 068 cash transfer trial, and the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System with government program records. Earlier work from this group found that cash transfers helped protect memory and lower dementia risk, and this renewal will look for the optimal payment sizes, timing, and target recipients to get the most protection. The researchers use statistical and causal-analysis methods, including randomized-trial evidence, to compare people with different histories of cash support across the adult life course.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults living in low-income, rural South African communities—especially those who received or are eligible for government cash-transfer programs—are the most relevant to this research.
Not a fit: People who live outside the targeted South African region, are not part of the linked databases, or already have advanced dementia are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help shape cash-transfer policies that better protect thinking and memory and reduce dementia risk in low-income communities.
How similar studies have performed: Previous linked analyses by the same team found protective effects of randomized cash transfers on memory, dementia probability, and mortality, so this work builds on promising prior results.
Where this research is happening
Bloomington, United States
- Trustees of Indiana University — Bloomington, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Rosenberg, Molly Sears — Trustees of Indiana University
- Study coordinator: Rosenberg, Molly Sears
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 below.