The Life Experiences domain explores how a range of experiences – from education and life events and changes, to caregiving, to the
stress from day-to-day experiences – shape health and well-being across the lifespan and contribute to AD/ADRD outcomes. Primarily
focused on individual and family level experiences, this domain employs novel approaches to understanding these occurrences across
space and time. For example, time-related research in this domain examines how the cumulative effects of life experiences differ from
isolated risk factors, takes into account how certain experiences have different impacts over time, and considers how the duration of an
important life experience or when it occurs in the life course changes its import.
The Life Experiences domain’s initial efforts will focus on work, health behaviors, family and social relationships, and data linkages.
Work
The dynamics and characteristics of work – including skill requirements and working conditions – are central to individuals’ lives, and work-related events can be acute sources of stress as well as sources of stimulation. Improved and novel data tools, like enhanced work histories, are necessary to better understand the relationships between work and AD/ADRD outcomes.
Health & Health Behaviors
Health-related behaviors, like substance use, diet, and sleep, in concert with physical and psychological health conditions, like hearing loss and hypertension, across the life course factor into later-life outcomes. These conditions and behaviors are often overlapping and interact in complex ways, and the timing and coincidence of these health-related phenomena must be taken into account when tracing their influences on AD/ADRD risk and resilience.
Family & Social Relationships
Relationships and bonds within immediate and extended families are influential throughout the life course. Additionally, social relationships outside of the family, especially those within neighborhoods or other social groups, are also important to consider as potentially protective or stressful influences on individuals’ lives and their subsequent risk for AD/ADRD.
Multimodal Data Linkages
Generating accessible resources for researchers aiming to undertake large, population-representative studies and/or studies about life experiences over an extended period of time is a priority for the Life Experiences domain. Additionally, Life Experiences is also interested in the use of technologies including wearable devices and aims to explore how novel bio-behavioral data and computational/AI techniques may serve research over the life course.
In the fall of 2024, the GECC hosted a series of town hall meetings with hundreds of unique participants. These meetings and additional conversations with domain experts yielded critical insights for the Life Experiences domain, including highlighting key themes and gaps in research.
Key Themes
Short-Term Priorities
Long-Term Priorities
Sarah Flood
University of Minnesota
Domain Lead
Eden Wetzel
University of Southern California
Domain Coordinator
The GECC is funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) U24AG088894.
