Race and Ethnicity, Hypertension, and Neuroimaging Markers of Brain Aging: A Causal Mediation Analysis in the HABS-HD Study
Controlling blood pressure could close approximately one-third of the Black-White gap in brain aging markers, quantifying a modifiable disparity driver.
Causal mediation analysis in 1,347 diverse older adults from the HABS-HD cohort demonstrates that controlling population-level hypertension could reduce Black-White disparities in brain small vessel disease by approximately 36%, while other neuroimaging markers differ via non-vascular mechanisms. Results provide a quantitative case for hypertension as a modifiable driver of racial dementia risk disparities.
What the study was
- Study design
- Causal mediation analysis in prospective cohort (marginal structural models)
- Population
- Racially/ethnically diverse older adults, HABS-HD cohort (UCSF)
- Sample size
- 1347
- Category
- Public Health
- Maturity
- Validated
- Journal
- Neurology
Why it surfaced
Neurology; large diverse cohort n=1,347; causal mediation design; actionable disparities data for dementia prevention policy.
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