Supporting Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia research in low‐ and middle‐income countries

Abstract

AbstractThe greatest increases for AD/ADRD will occur in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs), where approximately 71% of the global cases will reside. These projections might be confounded by temporal changes due to shorter survival after dementia, lack of education and awareness, lack of access to healthcare, inadequate diagnostic assessment, and variability in costs of care of the elderly with AD/ADRD, all of which could lead to under‐accounting of the AD/ADRD burden. Nevertheless, the projected increase underscores the importance of developing a strong, coordinated research agenda that will inform mitigation and prevention strategies for AD/ADRD in LMICs. National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is positioned to play a leading role in this endeavor, as the leading federal government institute for supporting research on aging and AD/ADRD. NIA’s interests, activities and scientific initiatives related to global health research has increased over the past year through collaborations with other NIH institutes and centers (including Fogarty International Center) and engagement with the global scientific community. Research supported under these initiatives could further inform future scientific priorities areas for AD/ADRD. Given the growth trajectory of its global health portfolio, NIA will continue to support coordinated approaches to identify research gaps and new opportunities to address the growing burden of AD/ADRD in LMICs, globally.