Black populations in epidemiological Alzheimer's disease case-control and cohort studies : a discussion and review

Abstract

Epidemiological studies are the prototype for elucidating patterns of disease based on known exposures. In this thesis, study of both case-control and cohort epidemiological studies were analyzed in the sector of Alzheimer's disease. More specifically, the scope of research involved the exposure of race, black or white, and the onset of disease. This research is significant because white based studies are predominant in Alzheimer's disease and minimal research has been done that links the relationship between race and the disease. Several epidemiological studies which include a substantial portion of the black community were reviewed and discussed. Quantitative and qualitative research in this study determined that blacks have a much higher risk than their white counterparts for obtaining the onset of Alzheimer's disease, with some studies producing an RR of 2.9 when comparing the two races. The relative risks for elucidation of causation between this linkage produced in each study varied significantly. One study analyzed and presented provided results that were largely inconsistent with other data in this project. Studies presented allowed epidemiologists and physicians to concentrate on more elusive risk factors such as the apolipoprotein e4 allele after black populations that had more of a risk of the onset of Alzheimer's disease were isolated through epidemiological research found in this thesis. In short, this project explored and discussed a sector of Alzheimer's disease that is largely unexplored and fuels additional research centering race and the disease given the projected increase in black elderly populations in the community and need for advancements in the field.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2008

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Safranek, William

Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

College

College of Medicine

Degree Program

Molecular Biology and Microbiology

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Medicine;Medicine -- Dissertations, Academic

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0022247

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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