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The current study sought to determine the influence of initial sleep quality and body mass index on the cognitive and mood outcomes of a community-based cardio-dance exercise program. Thirty-two older African Americans who participated in a 5-month cardio-dance exercise program were propensity-matched to 32 no-contact controls. Participants completed neuropsychological tests of attention, executive function, and memory and a self-reported depression measure at baseline and post-test. Among exercise participants, we observed significant improvements in depression (baseline = 6.16 ± 5.54, post-test = 4.66 ± 4.89, [Formula: see text], p = .009) and attention (baseline = 40.53 ± 14.01, post-test = 36.63 ± 13.29, [Formula: see text], p = .009) relative to controls. Improvements in executive function and attention were most pronounced among exercise participants with poor sleep quality (baseline = 7.71 ± 1.25, post-test = 8.29 ± 2.06, [Formula: see text], p = .04) and with obesity (baseline = 38.05 ± 12.78, post-test = 35.67 ± 13.82, [Formula: see text], p = .001), respectively. This study provides novel evidence that exercise has the potential to improve depression in older African Americans. For those with poor sleep quality or obesity, exercise can also improve some cognitive outcomes.

African Americans experience higher incidence and prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Yet, they continue to be underrepresented in AD research, limiting the ability to generalize findings to the increasingly diverse US population. To reduce AD disparities, targeted efforts are needed to increase the representation of African Americans in AD research. This mini review identified evidence-based strategies that increased research participation among older African Americans. Four recruitment strategies emerged from eight published peer-reviewed studies that directly evaluated the effectiveness of strategies aimed at increasing the number of African American participants in Alzheimer’s research. The strategies include community outreach and education, face-to-face discussions, remote access, and referral and partnership with local organizations. Across different locations, these strategies increased the number of African Americans enrolled into AD research, the number of people that signed up to donate their brains for AD research upon death, and the knowledge and perception of AD in the communities. Targeted efforts are effective in increasing AD research participation among older African Americans, especially when combined with approaches that emphasize transparency and mutual trust and involve the community as stakeholders in the research process.