Title: Is a dose of connection the key to prevention?

Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are expected to burden over 150 million patients and their families worldwide by 2050, disproportionately affecting those with lower levels of education. In the absence of a cure, experts have identified education and social contact as modifiable risk factors to target for preventing and slowing dementia onset. These efforts align with recent and growing public health concerns around social disconnectedness in the U.S., which has prompted strategic investment in interventions to address an “epidemic” of social isolation. Nevertheless, the pathways through which education shapes dementia risk are numerous and far-reaching across life stages, domains of health, and spheres of social life. The older adult population is at high risk for both dementia and social isolation, but earlier educational attainment has likely shaped decades of experiences and exposures that profoundly influence dementia risk, calling into question the effectiveness of widespread efforts to cultivate social connections later in the life course. In this talk, I will use two population-based studies to estimate the potential impact of social interventions on educational disparities in cognitive health and dementia later in life. Specifically, I will assess how educational differences in dementia might change under hypothetical interventions targeting patterns of social contact. I will consider the implications of these findings for ongoing conversations about the intersection of social connections and dementia in population and public health.