Northwestern University has been awarded $20 million over five years by the National Institutes of Health to investigate the health consequences of incarceration. The study will focus on how incarceration impacts age-related conditions and risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).
The study, led by Linda Teplin from the Feinberg School of Medicine, is the first to explore incarceration's effects using a comprehensive approach. Previous studies have treated incarceration as a binary variable, without considering differences in duration or type of facility.
“Like any other risk factor for health, incarceration must be investigated as a dose, including frequency and duration of stay, type of facility, age(s) and recency,” Teplin stated. “For example, where someone is incarcerated matters. Jails, designed for short-term stays, have different health services available than prisons, which house only people convicted of a felony and serving sentences longer than one year.”
This research builds upon data collected in the Northwestern Juvenile Project (NJP), which began in the 1990s with participants at a median age of 15. The NJP provides extensive data from nearly 18,000 interviews with 1,829 individuals. These participants are now at a median age of 43.
“The research led by Linda Teplin and her colleagues at Feinberg is a stellar example of the University prioritizing work that seeks to find solutions to improve society,” said Northwestern President Michael Schill. “This $20 million grant to the Northwestern Juvenile Project will explore potential impacts of incarceration on health outcomes and, hopefully, help prevent disease.”
Participants will undergo physical and mental health assessments along with cognitive tests and blood tests to identify biomarkers for age-related conditions. The researchers aim to use a dose-response model framework to understand how different aspects of incarceration affect health risks for ADRD.
“To predict risk of ADRD, we need to study people before they develop the disease. Mass incarceration, which disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic people, may play a key role in health inequities in overall health, age-related conditions and the development of ADRD,” Teplin explained. “Only by identifying risk factors contributing to these disparities can we address them.”
The Northwestern Juvenile Project's research on age-related conditions began on August 15.