Digital phenotyping: An equal opportunity approach to reducing disparities in Alzheimer's disease and related dementia research

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Gabrielle B. Britton, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología; Li-Kai Huang, Taipei Medical University; Alcibiades E. Villarreal, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología; Allan I Levey, Emory University; Anthony Philippakis, Harvard University; Chaur-Jong Hu, Taipei Medical University; Cheng Chang Yang, Taipei Medical University; Declare Mushi, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College; Diana C. Oviedo, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología; Giselle Rangel, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología; Jor Sam Ho, Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative; Louisa Thompson, Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative; Mahdi Khemakhem, Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative; Makayla Ross, Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative; Maria B. Carreira, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología; Nicole Kim, Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative; Philip Joung, Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative; Omar Albastaki, Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative; Po Chih Kuo, National Tsing Hua University; Spencer Low, Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative; Stella-Maria Paddick, Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust; Yi-Chun Kuan, Taipei Medical University; Rhoda Au, Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-11-29
• Publisher: Wiley Periodicals LLC
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2023 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12495
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Alzheimer's & Dementia
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: e12495
• Grant/Funding Information: The following provided support that informed the contents of this article including TMCity Foundation, Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative, the American Heart Association (20SFRN35460031), the National Institute on Aging (AG062109, AG072654, AG068753), the Alzheimer's Disease Drug Foundation (201902‐2017835), and in‐kind support from Linus Health. Funding for the PARI cohort comes from the Sistema Nacional de Investigación (SNI) of Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (SENACYT) of Panama. Funding from the IDEA cohort comes from Grand Challenges Cananda (GCC) in Canada. Funding from the SHH cohort is supported by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) in Taiwan.
• Keywords: biomarkers; minority and vulnerable populations; health disparity; digital technologies
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Sociology, Public and Social Welfare

Abstract

A rapidly aging world population is fueling a concomitant increase in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD). Scientific inquiry, however, has largely focused on White populations in Australia, the European Union, and North America. As such, there is an incomplete understanding of AD in other populations. In this perspective, we describe research efforts and challenges of cohort studies from three regions of the world: Central America, East Africa, and East Asia. These cohorts are engaging with the Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative (DAC), a global partnership that brings together cohorts from around the world to advance understanding of AD. Each cohort is poised to leverage the widespread use of mobile devices to integrate digital phenotyping into current methodologies and mitigate the lack of representativeness in AD research of racial and ethnic minorities across the globe. In addition to methods that these three cohorts are already using, DAC has developed a digital phenotyping protocol that can collect ADRD‐related data remotely via smartphone and/or in clinic via a tablet to generate a common data elements digital dataset that can be harmonized with additional clinical and molecular data being collected at each cohort site and when combined across cohorts and made accessible can provide a global data resource that is more racially/ethnically represented of the world population.