Information About Alzheimer's Disease for Latinos in New York City

NCT ID: NCT04471779

Last Updated: 2025-11-17

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

374 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-08-13

Study Completion Date

2025-10-03

Brief Summary

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This study will assess the psychosocial and behavioral impacts of receiving Alzheimer's disease genetic risk assessment incorporating APOE genotypes among Latinos in northern Manhattan. The investigators will conduct a longitudinal, community-based study with a mixed methods design. Participants will be randomized to learn about their lifetime risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) based either on (a) Latino ethnicity and family history alone (genotype nondisclosure group), or (b) the same factors plus APOE genotype (genotype disclosure group). Responses will be evaluated at 6 weeks, 9 months, and 15 months after risk assessment. In the quantitative component of the study, the investigators will assess psychosocial outcomes, memory test performance, and health-related behaviors. In the qualitative component of the study, the investigators will investigate the lived experience of receiving personal AD risk information, using a stress and coping theoretical framework.

Detailed Description

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Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is the strongest genetic predictor of risk for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). Given the high level of interest in genetic testing, the demand for predictive testing for APOE will surely increase. Improved understanding of the impacts of testing, sources of variability in response, and inclusion of diverse samples are critical for informing methods to promote safe and effective disclosure of AD genetic risk information.

As with other diseases, previous research on AD, a devastating and incurable illness, has found little significant or sustained distress in response to genetic susceptibility testing for APOE, even among persons who learn they are at elevated risk. These surprising findings, which run counter to the experience of many clinicians, may be related to limitations in the methods of previous studies. Most previous studies primarily enrolled well-educated Caucasians with a family history, who were strongly motivated to pursue genetic risk information. Further, most studies assessed impacts primarily through standardized measures of depression and anxiety, which may not capture the kinds of distress experienced or coping strategies that might blunt or mask distress. Qualitative research shows that receipt of genetic information can have important psychosocial effects not well captured through standardized measures. Also, in one study, people with a high-risk gene test for APOE performed worse on memory tests if they were informed about the results than if they were not informed, suggesting that other impact measures are needed.

Another important limitation of prior work is that it has lacked representation of ethnic minority groups. Latinos are the second largest U.S. ethnic group, comprising about 18% of the population, yet no previous study has investigated the impacts of receiving AD genetic risk information among Latinos. While AD incidence rates may vary among Latino subgroups, data from the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP), a study in northern Manhattan, indicate that they are about twice as high among Caribbean Hispanics (primarily Dominicans) as among persons of European ancestry.

In this study, the investigators will improve understanding of the impacts of receiving personal AD genetic risk information and the factors that influence adjustment to such information among Latinos who live in the same communities studied in WHICAP.

Conditions

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Alzheimer Disease

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

The investigators estimate that 2171 people will participate in the Baseline Survey, of whom 400 will be randomized and included in the follow-up study. Half of those in the follow-up study will be randomized to receive information about their risk of Alzheimer's disease based on Latino ethnicity, family history, and APOE genotype, and half will be randomized to receive information about their risk based on ethnicity and family history alone.
Primary Study Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors
Persons conducting follow-up surveys via computer-assisted telephone interviews will be masked with respect to participant randomization group

Study Groups

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Disclosure

Participants will be given information about their risk of Alzheimer's disease based on Latino ethnicity, family history of Alzheimer's disease, and their APOE genotype.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Disclosure of APOE genotype

Intervention Type OTHER

Information about risk of Alzheimer's disease will be given to participants based on their APOE genotypes, in addition to Latino ethnicity and family history.

Non-disclosure

Participants will be given information about their risk of Alzheimer's disease based on Latino ethnicity and family history of Alzheimer's disease alone.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Disclosure of APOE genotype

Information about risk of Alzheimer's disease will be given to participants based on their APOE genotypes, in addition to Latino ethnicity and family history.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* self-identified as Latino or Hispanic
* age 40-64 years
* current residence in target neighborhoods: Washington Heights, Inwood, Hamilton Heights, Central Harlem, East Harlem, Morningside Heights, Manhattanville, or Striver's Row, New York

Exclusion Criteria

* does not self-identify as Latino
* does not reside in target neighborhoods
* not in applicable age range
* has Alzheimer's disease
* previously tested for APOE
* has a family history consistent with autosomal dominant, early onset Alzheimer's disease
* has a positive screen for suicidality in Baseline Survey (any response other than "not at all" to PHQ-9 item, "thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way")
Minimum Eligible Age

40 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

64 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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National Institute on Aging (NIA)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

Columbia University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Ruth Ottman

Professor of Epidemiology

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Ruth Ottman, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Columbia University

Locations

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Columbia University Irving Medical Center

New York, New York, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Tang MX, Cross P, Andrews H, Jacobs DM, Small S, Bell K, Merchant C, Lantigua R, Costa R, Stern Y, Mayeux R. Incidence of AD in African-Americans, Caribbean Hispanics, and Caucasians in northern Manhattan. Neurology. 2001 Jan 9;56(1):49-56. doi: 10.1212/wnl.56.1.49.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11148235 (View on PubMed)

Grubs RE, Parker LS, Hamilton R. Subtle psychosocial sequelae of genetic test results. Current Genetic Medicine Reports 2014;2:242-249.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Caban M, Tran E, Meng A, Wetmore JB, Ottman R, Siegel K. Planning for the future following receipt of Alzheimer's disease risk estimate among Latinos in New York City. J Alzheimers Dis. 2025 Oct;107(3):1226-1239. doi: 10.1177/13872877251365571. Epub 2025 Aug 8.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 40776633 (View on PubMed)

Tran E, Caban M, Meng A, Wetmore JB, Ottman R, Siegel K. Knowledge and Beliefs About Medical and Non-Medical Interventions to Control Alzheimer's Disease Among Latinos in New York City. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2025 Jul;40(7):e70128. doi: 10.1002/gps.70128.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 40627435 (View on PubMed)

Tang MX, Maestre G, Tsai WY, Liu XH, Feng L, Chung WY, Chun M, Schofield P, Stern Y, Tycko B, Mayeux R. Relative risk of Alzheimer disease and age-at-onset distributions, based on APOE genotypes among elderly African Americans, Caucasians, and Hispanics in New York City. Am J Hum Genet. 1996 Mar;58(3):574-84.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8644717 (View on PubMed)

Tang MX, Stern Y, Marder K, Bell K, Gurland B, Lantigua R, Andrews H, Feng L, Tycko B, Mayeux R. The APOE-epsilon4 allele and the risk of Alzheimer disease among African Americans, whites, and Hispanics. JAMA. 1998 Mar 11;279(10):751-5. doi: 10.1001/jama.279.10.751.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 9508150 (View on PubMed)

Gurland BJ, Wilder DE, Lantigua R, Stern Y, Chen J, Killeffer EH, Mayeux R. Rates of dementia in three ethnoracial groups. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 1999 Jun;14(6):481-93.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10398359 (View on PubMed)

Molinuevo JL, Pintor L, Peri JM, Lleo A, Oliva R, Marcos T, Blesa R. Emotional reactions to predictive testing in Alzheimer's disease and other inherited dementias. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2005 Jul-Aug;20(4):233-8. doi: 10.1177/153331750502000408.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16136847 (View on PubMed)

Heshka JT, Palleschi C, Howley H, Wilson B, Wells PS. A systematic review of perceived risks, psychological and behavioral impacts of genetic testing. Genet Med. 2008 Jan;10(1):19-32. doi: 10.1097/GIM.0b013e31815f524f.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 18197053 (View on PubMed)

Green RC, Roberts JS, Cupples LA, Relkin NR, Whitehouse PJ, Brown T, Eckert SL, Butson M, Sadovnick AD, Quaid KA, Chen C, Cook-Deegan R, Farrer LA; REVEAL Study Group. Disclosure of APOE genotype for risk of Alzheimer's disease. N Engl J Med. 2009 Jul 16;361(3):245-54. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0809578.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19605829 (View on PubMed)

Bemelmans SA, Tromp K, Bunnik EM, Milne RJ, Badger S, Brayne C, Schermer MH, Richard E. Psychological, behavioral and social effects of disclosing Alzheimer's disease biomarkers to research participants: a systematic review. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2016 Nov 10;8(1):46. doi: 10.1186/s13195-016-0212-z.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27832826 (View on PubMed)

Vos J, van Asperen CJ, Oosterwijk JC, Menko FH, Collee MJ, Gomez Garcia E, Tibben A. The counselees' self-reported request for psychological help in genetic counseling for hereditary breast/ovarian cancer: not only psychopathology matters. Psychooncology. 2013 Apr;22(4):902-10. doi: 10.1002/pon.3081. Epub 2012 Jun 27.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22740372 (View on PubMed)

Gooding HC, Linnenbringer EL, Burack J, Roberts JS, Green RC, Biesecker BB. Genetic susceptibility testing for Alzheimer disease: motivation to obtain information and control as precursors to coping with increased risk. Patient Educ Couns. 2006 Dec;64(1-3):259-67. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2006.03.002. Epub 2006 Jul 21.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16860524 (View on PubMed)

Zallen DT. "Well, good luck with that": reactions to learning of increased genetic risk for Alzheimer disease. Genet Med. 2018 Nov;20(11):1462-1467. doi: 10.1038/gim.2018.13. Epub 2018 Mar 8.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29517767 (View on PubMed)

Lineweaver TT, Bondi MW, Galasko D, Salmon DP. Effect of knowledge of APOE genotype on subjective and objective memory performance in healthy older adults. Am J Psychiatry. 2014 Feb;171(2):201-8. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.12121590.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24170170 (View on PubMed)

Aviles-Santa ML, Heintzman J, Lindberg NM, Guerrero-Preston R, Ramos K, Abraido-Lanza AL, Bull J, Falcon A, McBurnie MA, Moy E, Papanicolaou G, Pina IL, Popovic J, Suglia SF, Vazquez MA. Personalized medicine and Hispanic health: improving health outcomes and reducing health disparities - a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute workshop report. BMC Proc. 2017 Oct 3;11(Suppl 11):11. doi: 10.1186/s12919-017-0079-4. eCollection 2017.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29149222 (View on PubMed)

Mehta KM, Yeo GW. Systematic review of dementia prevalence and incidence in United States race/ethnic populations. Alzheimers Dement. 2017 Jan;13(1):72-83. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2016.06.2360. Epub 2016 Sep 4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27599209 (View on PubMed)

Meng A, Caban M, Tran E, Wetmore JB, Ottman R, Siegel K. Addressing Disparities in Alzheimer's Disease-Related Healthcare Through Understanding Factors Contributing to Perceived Vulnerability Among Latinos in Northern Manhattan: A Qualitative Report. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2025 Apr 7:10.1007/s40615-025-02409-6. doi: 10.1007/s40615-025-02409-6. Online ahead of print.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 40195275 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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R01AG062528

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

AAAR8269

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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