Filial Closeness and Attitudes on Intergenerational Familial Care in Lebanon: Implications for Future Care Policy for Older Adults.

Objectives: Population aging, as well as the rise in chronic health conditions and economic hardships, in Lebanon has led to a greater significance of the role of family in caring for older adults. This study examined attitudes and beliefs toward family- and state-based care in Lebanon among midlife and older adults, and their association with filial closeness.

Methods: We used data from the Family Ties and Aging Study (2009) collected in Beirut, Lebanon, from adults aged 40-91 (N = 216).

Information and Communication Technology Use Among Social Ties of Varying Strength: Who Benefits and How?

Background And Objectives: Information and communication technology (ICT) use has been associated with well-being among older adults. This link is often attributed to the fact that ICT use facilitates connecting with others. The purpose of this study is to assess how contact frequency and social tie strength impact the relationship between ICT use and depressive symptoms among older adults.

Supporting Arab-American Families Living With Dementia: Testing a Culturally Adapted Program.

Limited access to support services due to language and cultural barriers often results in a belief that family alone is the only option during times of need among Arab Americans. We test whether participation in a culturally adapted version of the Alzheimer's Association "Living with Alzheimer's" educational program is associated with positive outcomes for Arab-American care partners ( = 58). We present a single group design using paired t-tests that demonstrate reduced care burden and increased care satisfaction from pre- to post-participation.

Adapted MoCA for Use among Arabic-Speaking Immigrants in the United States.

Objective: Neuropsychological assessment among U.S. Arabic-speaking older adults is virtually non-existent due to lack of translated measures and normative data, as well as researchers' limited access to Middle Eastern/Arab Americans.

Introduction to the Costs of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias.

This special issue is the result of the Michigan Center for Contextual Factors in Alzheimer's Disease (MCCFAD) third Summer Data Immersion (SDI) program held on May 23-26, 2022. Thirty-seven researchers from 17 universities participated in the program, which emphasized racial/ethnic and other contextual factors in the study of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) costs using a team science approach. During the program, data from the Health and Retirement Study were used to investigate multiple topics related to both financial and non-financial costs of ADRD including: (1) life course socioeconomic factors, (2) costs of preclinical ADRD, (3) COVID-19, (4) family members' employment outcomes, (5) geographic contexts, (6) monetary value of unpaid ADRD care, and (7) spousal relations for couples living with ADRD.

Intergenerational Relations and Well-being Among Older Middle Eastern/Arab American Immigrants During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study aimed to examine the consequences of COVID-19 socialization restrictions on familial and social support systems of older Middle Eastern/Arab immigrants in Michigan, home to the largest, most visible concentration of Middle Eastern/Arab Americans in the United States. Six focus group ( = 45) interviews were conducted with Middle Eastern/Arab American immigrants aged 60 and older to assess difficulties faced during the pandemic as it related to familial, social, and medical care. Inductive analysis identified two major themes to advance meanings of intergenerational relations among older immigrants (a) the breakdown of family relations, which describes a shift in both the experience and expectations of intergenerational relations in Middle Eastern/Arab families; and (b) cultural sources of increased stress, illustrating how the pandemic interfered with valued family interactions to affect well-being.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Monetary Value of Informal Caregiving for Non-Institutionalized People Living With Dementia.

Objective: To examine racial and ethnic differences in costs of informal caregiving among older adults with dementia in the United States.

Methods: We used data from the 2002 to 2018 Health and Retirement Survey to estimate annual informal care hours for adults with dementia ( = 10,015). We used regression models to examine racial and ethnic differences in hours of informal care for activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL, controlling for demographic characteristics, education, and level of disability.

COVID-19 Stress and Cognitive Disparities in Black, MENA, and White Older Adults.

Background And Objectives: Population aging has led to an increased interest in cognitive health and, in particular, the role that stress plays in cognitive disparities. This paper extends previous work by characterizing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) stress type prevalence and its association with cognitive health in metro-Detroit among Black, Middle Eastern/Arab (MENA), and White older adults.

Research Design And Methods: Data come from a regionally representative sample of adults aged 65+ in metro-Detroit (N = 600; MENA n = 199; Black n = 205; White n = 196).

Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Diagnosis in the United States Among US-Born and Foreign-Born White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian Older Adults.

Timely clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) is important for resource allocation, mitigating safety concerns, and improving quality of life. While studies have examined ADRD diagnosis disparities by race/ethnicity, few include its intersection with nativity. Our aims were to (1) estimate the odds of diagnosed ADRD among US- and foreign-born racial/ethnic groups compared to US-born White older adults and (2) make comparisons by nativity within each racial/ethnic group.

Biomarkers of chronic inflammation and cognitive decline: A prospective observational study.

We sought to determine whether the biomarkers of chronic inflammation predict cognitive decline in a prospective observational study. We measured baseline serum soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels in 282 participants of the University of Michigan Memory and Aging Project. Cognitive function was measured using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale for up to five time points.

Modifiable Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Among Middle Eastern and North African Immigrants to the United States.

Background And Objectives: Modifiable risk factors across the life course play a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Studies have identified racial and ethnic disparities in ADRD risk factors. Few studies have explored the epidemiology of ADRD risk among Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Americans, largely due to their classification as White in US national health surveys.

Suitability of Middle Eastern and North African immigrant minimal reporting category for Arab immigrant health research in the national health interview survey.

Studies of Middle Eastern immigrants using national data, with and without African immigrants, have provided important discoveries on the health of this group. However, they do not directly measure health among Arab immigrants. It is yet to be determined whether using a Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) classification can represent the health needs of Arab immigrants.

Friendship trajectories and health across the lifespan.

Friends are a vital source of social relations throughout the lifespan and across developmental stages. Our knowledge of how friendships develop over time, especially from childhood through adulthood, is limited. Furthermore, it is now recognized that this specific type of relationship influences health across the life course in unique ways.

Suspected Undiagnosed ADRD Among Middle Eastern and North African Americans.

ADRD underdiagnosis among minority populations is well-established and known to be more prevalent among women. Yet, it remains unclear if these patterns exist among adults of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) descent. We estimated ADRD underdiagnosis among adults of MENA descent and other US- and foreign-born non-Hispanic Whites and compared sex-stratified results.

Self-Reported Cognitive Aging and Well-Being among Older Middle Eastern/Arab American Immigrants during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed new challenges for cognitive aging since it brought interruptions in family relations for older adults in immigrant communities. This study examines the consequences of COVID-19 for the familial and social support systems of aging Middle Eastern/Arab immigrants in Michigan, the largest concentration in the United States. We conducted six focus groups with 45 participants aged 60 and older to explore participant descriptions of changes and difficulties faced during the pandemic relating to their cognitive health, familial and social support systems, and medical care.

Engaging diverse populations in aging research during the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned from four National Institutes of Health funded-Centers.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on our personal and professional lives required a rapid adaptation to the evolving health crisis and accumulating social stresses. Established measures to reduce the spread of infection and potential death had a direct effect on ongoing research that involved older adults and underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. Although important to preserve public health, these measures risk further isolation of vulnerable research participant populations and threatened established community partnerships.

Measurement and structural invariance of a neuropsychological battery among Middle Eastern/North African, Black, and White older adults.

Objective: There is a lack of guidance on common neuropsychological measures among Arabic speakers and individuals who identify as Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) in the United States. This study evaluated measurement and structural invariance of a neuropsychological battery across race/ethnicity (MENA, Black, White) and language (Arabic, English).

Method: Six hundred six older adults (128 MENA-English, 74 MENA-Arabic, 207 Black, 197 White) from the Detroit Area Wellness Network were assessed via telephone.

Suspected undiagnosed ADRD among Middle Eastern and North African Americans.

Background ADRD underdiagnosis among minority populations is well-established and known to be more prevalent among women. Yet, it remains unclear if these patterns exist among Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) adults. We estimated ADRD underdiagnosis among MENA and other US- and foreign-born non-Hispanic Whites and compared sex-stratified results.

Linked lives and convoys of social relations.

We consider linked lives through the Convoy Model of Social Relations to illustrate their complexity, consequences, and development across contexts. To illustrate how the Convoy Model lens provides a unique opportunity to examine the multidimensional and dynamic character of linked lives across time and space, we analyze twenty-three years of longitudinal data from the Social Relations Study (SRS). The SRS is a regionally representative Detroit-area sample (N=1,498) with three waves (1992; 2005; 2015) of data from community dwelling people age 13 to 93.

Diabetes Among Racial and Ethnically Diverse Older Adults in the United States with Cognitive Limitations.

Diabetes is one of the most common coexisting conditions among adults with cognitive limitations. Complexities of diabetes care present challenges for older adults and their caregivers. Few studies have evaluated disparities in the prevalence of coexisting diabetes among older adults with cognitive limitations by race/ethnicity and nativity.

Caregiving for Foreign-Born Older Adults With Dementia.

Objectives: This study examines how nativity, dementia classification, and age of migration (AOM) of older foreign-born (FB) adults are associated with caregiver psychological well-being and care burden.

Methods: We used linked data from Round 1 and Round 5 of the National Health and Aging Trends Study and Round 5 of the National Study of Caregiving for a sample of nondementia caregivers (n = 941), dementia caregivers (n = 533), and matched care recipients. Ordinary least squares regression models were estimated, adjusting for caregiver characteristics.

Migration and Cognitive Health Disparities: The Arab American and Refugee Case.

Objectives: This study investigates whether the year of arrival to the United States (U.S.) and birthplace relate to postmigration cognitive difficulties among foreign- and U.