Screening and enrollment of underrepresented ethnocultural and educational populations in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)

Introduction: An analysis of the ethnocultural and socioeconomic composition of Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) participants is needed to assess the generalizability of ADNI data to diverse populations.

Methods: ADNI data collected between October 2004 and November 2020 were used to determine ethnocultural and educational composition of the sample and differences in the following metrics: screening, screen fails, enrollment, biomarkers.

Results: Of 3739 screened individuals, 11% identified as being from ethnoculturally underrepresented populations (e.g., Black, Latinx) and 16% had <12 years of education. Of 2286 enrolled participants, 11% identified as ethnoculturally underrepresented individuals and 15% had <12 years of education. This participation is considerably lower than US Census data for adults 60+ (ethnoculturally underrepresented populations: 25%; <12 years of education: 4%). Individuals with <12 years of education failed screening at a higher rate.

Discussion: Our findings suggest that ADNI results may not be entirely generalizable to ethnoculturally diverse and low education populations.