Centers on the Demography and Economics of Aging

There are thirteen general Centers on the Demography and Economics of Aging (D&E Centers) and three Centers on the D&E of Alzheimer’s Disease/Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) ( RFA-AG-25-007 ). NIA/BSR also supports the Centers Program through one Coordinating Center (CC) ( RFA-AG-25-008 ) that organizes efforts between and across Centers.

D&E Centers support the infrastructure necessary for research and program development by investigators within and across institutions, in the areas of demography and economics of aging and AD/ADRD, as well as related interdisciplinary population-based social sciences. The Program’s activities include:

• Pilot projects
• Development of research networks
• Sharing of Center-produced data and resources
• Recruitment, mentoring, and support of new researchers
• Activities that expand the number of researchers and institutions with the capacity to apply for NIA funding
• The development of remote data enclaves and data sharing methods for the analysis of large-scale databases with linked administrative data, electronic health records, biological, and/or genetic information

The CC is a hub that serves the needs of the D&E Centers, fosters synergies across D&E centers and other NIA Centers Programs, and enhances the scientific impact of the program while also raising the overall profile of the program. The CC works with all Centers to meet their overall goals of: Beginning new lines of research relevant to the demography and economics of aging, including research relevant to AD/ADRD, and supporting researchers engaged in these fields through a variety of research and infrastructure activities built around center-specific research themes. The CC serves as the D&E Centers’ point of contact and works collaboratively with all participating Center sites to:

• Maintain an active multicenter website
• Disseminate Center research activities and resources to the larger research community, policymakers, and other relevant stakeholders
• Maintain a centralized database to track and synthesize outcomes of Center and CC activities for reporting purposes to NIA Program Staff and future evaluation by the NIA
• Arrange annual in-person meetings to foster communication and collaborative activities within and across all D&E Centers and other NIA Centers Programs

Scientific topics addressed by the sixteen currently funded Centers include illustrative topic areas in aging and AD/ADRD such as:

• Determinants of population trends and trajectories in physical and cognitive functioning, disability, morbidity, mortality, health, and well-being at older ages.
• The role of social, behavioral, environmental, and contextual risk and protective factors leading to disparities in health outcomes across the life course.
• Health disparities in aging related to access, use, and quality of care.
• Impact of health care services, the health care system, and long-term supports and services on the health and well-being of older persons with chronic disease, disability, and cognitive decline, and on their care partners.
• Integration of genetic approaches and data on biological risk into social science population research on aging.
• Integration, development, and validation of biological measurements into population-based studies.
• Health trends and group differences.
• Global aging and cross-national comparative health research that has direct potential to generate knowledge applicable to understanding, improving, or protecting the health of Americans.
• Family and intergenerational supports, including social connectedness and social isolation.
• Economic vulnerability and burden of disease.
• Demography of dementia care and caregiving, including paid and unpaid care. Effects of population-level health delivery and care interventions on outcomes of persons with dementia.

Below are the currently-funded D&E Centers (up-to-date information on this page):

DBSR