TY - JOUR
T1 - Educational disparities in brain health and dementia across Latin America and the United States
AU - Gonzalez-Gomez, Raul
AU - Legaz, Agustina
AU - Moguilner, Sebastián
AU - Cruzat, Josephine
AU - Hernández, Hernán
AU - Baez, Sandra
AU - Cocchi, Rafael
AU - Coronel-Olivero, Carlos
AU - Medel, Vicente
AU - Tagliazuchi, Enzo
AU - Migeot, Joaquín
AU - Ochoa-Rosales, Carolina
AU - Maito, Marcelo Adrián
AU - Reyes, Pablo
AU - Santamaria Garcia, Hernando
AU - Godoy, Maria E.
AU - Javandel, Shireen
AU - García, Adolfo M.
AU - Matallana, Diana L.
AU - Avila-Funes, José Alberto
AU - Slachevsky, Andrea
AU - Behrens, María I.
AU - Custodio, Nilton
AU - Cardona, Juan F.
AU - Brusco, Ignacio L.
AU - Bruno, Martín A.
AU - Sosa Ortiz, Ana L.
AU - Pina-Escudero, Stefanie D.
AU - Takada, Leonel T.
AU - Resende, Elisa de Paula França
AU - Valcour, Victor
AU - Possin, Katherine L.
AU - Okada de Oliveira, Maira
AU - Lopera, Francisco
AU - Lawlor, Brian
AU - Hu, Kun
AU - Miller, Bruce
AU - Yokoyama, Jennifer S.
AU - Gonzalez Campo, Cecilia
AU - Ibañez, Agustin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - BACKGROUND: Education influences brain health and dementia. However, its impact across regions, specifically Latin America (LA) and the United States (US), is unknown. METHODS: A total of 1412 participants comprising controls, patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) from LA and the US were included. We studied the association of education with brain volume and functional connectivity while controlling for imaging quality and variability, age, sex, total intracranial volume (TIV), and recording type. RESULTS: Education influenced brain measures, explaining 24%–98% of the geographical differences. The educational disparities between LA and the US were associated with gray matter volume and connectivity variations, especially in LA and AD patients. Education emerged as a critical factor in classifying aging and dementia across regions. DISCUSSION: The results underscore the impact of education on brain structure and function in LA, highlighting the importance of incorporating educational factors into diagnosing, care, and prevention, and emphasizing the need for global diversity in research. Highlights: Lower education was linked to reduced brain volume and connectivity in healthy controls (HCs), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Latin American cohorts have lower educational levels compared to the those in the United States. Educational disparities majorly drive brain health differences between regions. Educational differences were significant in both conditions, but more in AD than FTLD. Education stands as a critical factor in classifying aging and dementia across regions.
AB - BACKGROUND: Education influences brain health and dementia. However, its impact across regions, specifically Latin America (LA) and the United States (US), is unknown. METHODS: A total of 1412 participants comprising controls, patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) from LA and the US were included. We studied the association of education with brain volume and functional connectivity while controlling for imaging quality and variability, age, sex, total intracranial volume (TIV), and recording type. RESULTS: Education influenced brain measures, explaining 24%–98% of the geographical differences. The educational disparities between LA and the US were associated with gray matter volume and connectivity variations, especially in LA and AD patients. Education emerged as a critical factor in classifying aging and dementia across regions. DISCUSSION: The results underscore the impact of education on brain structure and function in LA, highlighting the importance of incorporating educational factors into diagnosing, care, and prevention, and emphasizing the need for global diversity in research. Highlights: Lower education was linked to reduced brain volume and connectivity in healthy controls (HCs), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Latin American cohorts have lower educational levels compared to the those in the United States. Educational disparities majorly drive brain health differences between regions. Educational differences were significant in both conditions, but more in AD than FTLD. Education stands as a critical factor in classifying aging and dementia across regions.
KW - Latin America
KW - United States
KW - dementia
KW - educational disparities
KW - healthy aging
KW - magnetic resonance imaging
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85199319111&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/alz.14085
DO - 10.1002/alz.14085
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85199319111
SN - 1552-5260
JO - Alzheimer's and Dementia
JF - Alzheimer's and Dementia
ER -
