Little is known about the influence of immigration-related sociocultural factors on age-related cognitive decline in first-generation Americans. The National Institute on Aging has awarded Joe Verghese, M.B.B.S., M.S., and colleagues a five-year, $4.1 million grant to study 400 older first-generation immigrants from the southern Indian state of Kerala living in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut region.

The researchers will assess whether cultural factors related to immigration—such as age at immigration, reasons for migrating, and duration of residency—affect biological aging as well as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health, which can contribute to cognitive health. Those 400 first-generation Kerala Americans will be compared with a Kerala-based cohort of 800 older adults participating in the National Institutes of Health-funded Kerala Einstein study. The findings could shed light on both risk factors and protective factors for Alzheimer’s and related dementias in immigrant populations.

Dr. Verghese is professor and director of the division of cognitive and motor aging in the Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology, the Judith and Burton P. Resnick Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease Research, the Murray D. Gross Memorial Faculty Scholar in Gerontology, and director of the Jack and Pearl Resnick Gerontology Center at Einstein and director of the Montefiore Einstein Center for the Aging Brain. (1R01AG084567-01)