Kenneth M Langa, MD, PhD
Cyrus Sturgis Research Professor of Internal Medicine
Professor of Internal Medicine
Research Professor, Institute of Gerontology, Medical School
Research Professor, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research
Professor of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health
[email protected]

Available to mentor

Kenneth M Langa, MD, PhD
Professor
  • About
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  • Qualifications
  • Center Memberships
  • Research Overview
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    About

    Dr. Langa is the Cyrus Sturgis Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and the Institute for Social Research, and an Associate Director of the Institute of Gerontology, all at the University of Michigan. He is also Co-Principal Investigator and Co-Director of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), and Principal Investigator of the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) Project, both funded by the National Institute on Aging. Dr. Langa is also an affiliate of the Michigan Center on the Demography of Aging (MiCDA).

    Dr. Langa received an MD and PhD in Public Policy at the University of Chicago as a Fellow in the Pew Program for Medicine, Arts, and the Social Sciences. He is a General Internist, an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), and an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

    Dr. Langa’s research focuses on the epidemiology and costs of chronic disease in older adults, with an emphasis on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. He has published more than 350 peer-reviewed articles on these topics and is currently studying population trends in dementia prevalence, and the relationship of common cardiovascular risk factors, as well as acute illnesses such as sepsis and stroke, to cognitive decline and dementia. Dr. Langa has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge, the World Health Organization, the University of California-San Francisco, the University of New South Wales, and the University of Otago where he continued work on cross-national comparisons of the epidemiology and outcomes of dementia in countries around the world.

    Links
    • Kenneth M. Langa, MD, PhD, Physician-Researcher
    • MiCDA
    Qualifications
    • Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar
      University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1999
    • Internship and Residency
      University of Michigan, United States, 1997
    Center Memberships
    • Center Member
      Caswell Diabetes Institute
    • Center Member
      Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation
    • Center Member
      MExperts-Center for Global Health Equity
    • Center Member
      Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine
    Research Overview

    I study the epidemiology and costs of chronic health conditions that affect older adults, with a focus on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. I am the Co-Director of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a National Institute on Aging funded longitudinal study of 20,000 adults in the United States ( http://hrsonline.isr.umich.edu ), and the Co-Director of the HCAP International Network of dementia studies. I am a General Internist and I have published more than 350 peer-reviewed research articles. I have been a Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge, the World Health Organization, the University of California-San Francisco, the University of New South Wales, and the University of Otago where I collaborated on cross-national comparisons of the epidemiology and outcomes of dementia in countries around the world.

    Recent Publications See All Publications
    • Journal Article
      Antidepressant use and cognitive decline: The health and retirement study
      Saczynski JS, Rosen AB, McCammon RJ, Zivin K, Andrade SE, Langa KM, Vijan S, Pirraglia PA, Briesacher BA. American Journal of Medicine, 2015 Jul 1; 128 (7): 739 - 746. DOI:10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.01.007
      PMID: 25644319
    • Journal Article
      Compositional analysis of lymphocytes and their relationship with health outcomes: findings from the health and retirement study.
      Xu L, Li C, Aiello AE, Langa KM, Dowd JB, Stebbins RC, Meier HCS, Jiang Z, Noppert GA, Li G. Immun Ageing, 2025 Mar 12; 22 (1): 12 DOI:10.1186/s12979-025-00505-z
      PMID: PMC11899731
    • Journal Article
      The Association Between Bilingual Animal Naming and Memory Among Bilingual Mexican American Older Adults.
      Briceño EM, Rentería MA, Campos BM, Mehdipanah R, Chang W, Lewandowski-Romps L, Garcia N, Gonzales XF, Levine DA, Langa KM, Heeringa SG, Morgenstern LB. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol, 2025 Jul; 38 (4): 286 - 294. DOI:10.1177/08919887241302109
      PMID: PMC12097291
    • Journal Article
      Ethnic Differences in the Association Between Cognitive Performance and Informant-rated Cognitive Decline.
      Briceño EM, Mendez Campos B, Mehdipanah R, Chang W, Heeringa SG, Martins-Caulfield J, Levine DA, Garcia N, Gonzales XF, Langa KM, Zahuranec DB, Morgenstern LB. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry, 2025 Jun; 33 (6): 664 - 677. DOI:10.1016/j.jagp.2024.12.003
      PMID: PMC12044550
    • Journal Article
      Food Insecurity and Cognitive Domains Among Older US Adults: Findings From the Health and Retirement Study
      Ludwig-Borycz E, Lee H, Ryan LH, Heeringa SG, McEvoy C, Wolfson JA, Agrawal A, Langa KM, Leung CW. Current Developments in Nutrition, 2025 May 30; 9: 106060 DOI:10.1016/j.cdnut.2025.106060
    • Journal Article
      Food Insecurity and the Risk of Dementia and Cognitive Impairment With No Dementia in US Older Adults
      Lee H, Ludwig-Borycz E, Heeringa S, Ryan LH, Langa KM, McEvoy CT, Wolfson JA, Leung C. Current Developments in Nutrition, 2025 May 30; 9: 107043 DOI:10.1016/j.cdnut.2025.107043
    • Journal Article
      Ethnic disparities in care needs among individuals with cognitive impairment.
      Mehdipanah R, Briceño EM, Malvitz M, Chang W, Heeringa SG, Zahuranec DB, Levine DA, Langa KM, Gonzales XF, Garcia N, Khan N, Morgenstern LB. J Alzheimers Dis, 2025 Apr 21; 13872877251334819 DOI:10.1177/13872877251334819
      PMID: 40259570
    • Journal Article
      Changes in marital and health status as risk factors for a subsequent negative wealth shock: A population-based longitudinal study in the United States, 1995-2020.
      Cho T-C, Yu X, Adar SD, Choi H, Langa KM, Kobayashi LC. Soc Sci Med, 2025 Apr; 371: 117905 DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117905
      PMID: PMC11939001
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