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Amano T, Jia Y, Redding A. The dynamic and reciprocal relationship between perceived everyday discrimination and cognitive function in later life. Aging Ment Health 2024; 28:1372-1382. [PMID: 38590239 DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2024.2338196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study, based on socioemotional selectivity theory and cognitive theory, investigates the dynamic and reciprocal relationship between perceived discrimination and cognitive function in later life. METHODS Data were drawn from four waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018). A total of 4,125 people who were 51 and older were included. Cognitive function was measured by the telephone interview for cognitive status (TICS-27). Perceived discrimination was measured using scores of the perceived everyday discrimination scale. Random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) was utilized. The model was adjusted for a range of covariates. Subgroup analysis by ethnoracial groups was conducted. RESULTS Cross-sectionally, while lower cognitive function was associated with higher perceived discrimination, this relationship was unidirectional. Longitudinally, higher perceived discrimination predicted lower cognitive function in later waves only among non-Hispanic White individuals. CONCLUSION Results suggested that a decline in cognitive function may precede and contribute to the worsening of perceived discrimination, which may result in further decline in cognitive function. Lifetime experience of discrimination was discussed as a possible source of the racial/ethnic variations in the relationship. Further study is needed to examine whether this relationship holds among people with cognitive impairment and dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takashi Amano
- Department of Social Work, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Yuane Jia
- Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, School of Health Professions, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Audrey Redding
- Department of Social Work, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA
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Westrick AC, Esiaka DK, Meier HCS, Rooks RN, Manning M, Tarraf W. Cognition and Wealth Changes in Mid-to-later Life: A Latent Class Trajectories Approach Using the Health and Retirement Study. J Aging Health 2024; 36:510-522. [PMID: 38356174 DOI: 10.1177/08982643241232003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
ObjectivesTo assess how cognitive trajectories from mid-to-later life relate to wealth change, overall and by mid-life income. Methods: Data were from participants (51-64 years) in the 2000-2018 U.S. Health and Retirement Study who were cognitively healthy at baseline (year 2000; unweighted n = 3821). Longitudinal latent class analyses generated cognitive and wealth trajectories, independently, and multinomial logistic regressions estimated the association between cognitive trajectories and wealth profiles, overall and by median income. Results: We identified three cognitive: cognitively healthy (CH), increasing cognitive impairment (ICI), and increasing dementia (ID) and four wealth profiles: stable wealth loss (SWL), delayed gradual wealth loss (DGWL), stable wealth gain (SWG), and gradual wealth gain (GWG). The ID group had higher probability of being in the SWL group and lower probability of SWG, which was more pronounced in respondents with greater median income. Discussion: Individuals with ID may be vulnerable to wealth loss, particularly for middle-class households.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashly C Westrick
- Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health, Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Darlingtina K Esiaka
- Center for Health Equity Transformation, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Helen C S Meier
- Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Ronica N Rooks
- Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Mark Manning
- Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA
| | - Wassim Tarraf
- Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
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Breton J, Foret JT, Hamlin AM, Ortega N, Clark AL. Health insurance coverage moderates the relationship between metabolic syndrome and baseline memory outcomes in Latino older adults. Clin Neuropsychol 2024:1-16. [PMID: 39158158 DOI: 10.1080/13854046.2024.2392303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 08/10/2024] [Indexed: 08/20/2024]
Abstract
Objective: Latino adults are at increased risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and have lower rates of health insurance (HI) coverage. Although inadequate HI coverage and MetS have been independently linked to poor cognition, their potential interactive effects have not yet been examined. The present study explored whether HI moderated the association between MetS and cognition. We hypothesized that Latinos with MetS that did not have HI would demonstrate poorer cognition than those with HI, whereas there would be minimal differences in cognition across HI status in those without MetS. Methods: Cross-sectional data from 805 Latino older adults enrolled in the Health and Aging Brain Study-Health Disparities was utilized. Analysis of covariance adjusting for sociodemographics examined MetS x HI interactions on memory and attention/executive functions composites. Results: Results revealed a significant MetS x HI interaction on memory (F = 4.33, p = 0.037, ηp2 = .01); Latino adults with MetS and no HI coverage had worse memory performance than those with MetS who had HI coverage (p = 0.022, ηp2 = .01), whereas there was no significant difference in memory between HI coverage groups in those without MetS (p > .05, ηp2 = .002). No MetS x HI interaction was observed for the attention/executive functions composite (F = 0.29, p = 0.588, ηp2 < .001). Conclusion: Latino older adults with MetS that do not have HI coverage may be at risk for poorer memory outcomes. Increasing the accessibility of HI coverage may help reduce cognitive health disparities in Latino older adults with vascular health comorbidities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordana Breton
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Janelle T Foret
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Abbey M Hamlin
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Nazareth Ortega
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Alexandra L Clark
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
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Suchy-Dicey AM, Vo TT, Oziel K, Buchwald DS, Rhoads K, French BF. Psychometric Reliability, Validity, and Generalizability of MoCA in American Indian Adults: The Strong Heart Study. Assessment 2024:10731911241261436. [PMID: 39046194 DOI: 10.1177/10731911241261436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/25/2024]
Abstract
Standardized neuropsychological instruments are used to evaluate cognitive impairment, but few have been psychometrically evaluated in American Indians. We collected Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in 403 American Indians 70 to 95 years, as well as age, sex, education, bilingual status, depression symptoms, and other neuropsychological instruments. We evaluated inferences of psychometric validity, including scoring inference using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, generalizability inference using reliability coefficient, and extrapolation inference by examining performance across different contexts and substrata. The unidimensional (total score) model had good fit criteria. Internal consistency reliability was high. MoCA scores were positively associated with crystallized cognition (ρ = 0.48, p < .001) and inversely with depression symptoms (ρ = -0.27, p < .001). Significant differences were found by education (d = 0.79, p < .05) depression (d = 0.484, p < .05), and adjudicated cognitive status (p = .0001) strata; however, MoCA was not sensitive or specific in discriminating cognitive impairment from normal cognition (area under the curve <0.5). MoCA scores had psychometric validity in older American Indians, but education and depression are important contextual features for score interpretability. Future research should evaluate cultural or community-specific adaptations, to improve test discriminability in this underserved population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Astrid M Suchy-Dicey
- Huntington Medical Research Institutes, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Spokane, USA
- University of Washington Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Seattle, USA
| | - Thao T Vo
- Washington State University College of Education, Pullman, USA
| | - Kyra Oziel
- Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Spokane, USA
| | - Dedra S Buchwald
- Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Spokane, USA
| | - Kristoffer Rhoads
- University of Washington Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Seattle, USA
| | - Brian F French
- Washington State University College of Education, Pullman, USA
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Lane JM, Zimmer A, Quiñones-Cordero MM, Sörensen S. Racial differences in the effect of verbal and nonverbal memory on concrete planning for future care needs among older adults: a multi-group structural equation modeling approach. NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, AND COGNITION. SECTION B, AGING, NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2024; 31:587-604. [PMID: 37317954 PMCID: PMC10721738 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2023.2223902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Concrete planning for future care needs may positively impact older adults' subsequent mental health and quality of life. However, the cognitive factors that facilitate concrete planning among Black and White older adults are still poorly understood. We investigated whether there are significant differences between Black (n = 159) and White (n = 262) older adults in concrete planning and explored racial differences in the relationship between verbal and nonverbal episodic memory and concrete planning. Results revealed that Blacks showed lower engagement in concrete planning and lower scores than Whites on each verbal and nonverbal memory task. For Blacks, but not Whites, verbal memory and nonverbal memory performance predicted concrete planning with higher nonverbal memory relating to less concrete planning and higher verbal memory associated with more concrete planning. Our findings suggest racial differences exist in how episodic verbal and nonverbal memory affect concrete planning, a crucial factor for older adults' preparation for future care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamil M Lane
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA
| | - Alexis Zimmer
- Department of Counseling and Human Development, University of Rochester, Rochester, USA
| | - Maria M Quiñones-Cordero
- Elaine Hubbard Center for Nursing Research on Aging, University of Rochester School of Nursing, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Silvia Sörensen
- Department of Counseling and Human Development, University of Rochester, Rochester, USA
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Hsieh N, Liu H, Zhang Z. Perceived Discrimination and Incident Dementia Among Older Adults in the United States: The Buffering Role of Social Relationships. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2024; 79:gbae059. [PMID: 38587492 PMCID: PMC11125403 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbae059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Recent studies have found that perceived discrimination as a chronic stressor predicts poorer cognitive health. However, little research has investigated how social relationships as potential intervening mechanisms may mitigate or exacerbate this association. Using a nationally representative sample of U.S. older adults, this study examined how the existence and quality of 4 types of relationships-with a partner, children, other family members, and friends-may modify the impact of perceived discrimination on incident dementia. METHODS We analyzed data from the 2006 to 2016 Health and Retirement Study (N = 12,236) using discrete-time event history models with competing risks. We used perceived discrimination, social relationships, and their interactions at the baseline to predict the risk of incident dementia in the follow-ups. RESULTS Perceived discrimination predicted a higher risk of incident dementia in the follow-ups. Although having a partner or not did not modify this association, partnership support attenuated the negative effects of discrimination on incident dementia. Neither the existence nor quality of relationships with children, other family members, or friends modified the association. DISCUSSION Our findings imply that intimate partnership plays a critical role in coping with discrimination and, consequently, influencing the cognitive health of older adults. Although perceived discrimination is a significant risk factor for the incidence of dementia, better partnership quality may attenuate this association. Policies that eliminate discrimination and interventions that strengthen intimate partnerships may facilitate better cognitive health in late life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ning Hsieh
- Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Hui Liu
- Department of Sociology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
- Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Zhenmei Zhang
- Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
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Suchy-Dicey AM, Vo TT, Oziel K, Buchwald DS, Nelson LA, Verney SP, French BF. Psychometric reliability, validity, and generalizability of 3MSE scores among American Indian adults: the Strong Heart Study. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2024; 30:454-463. [PMID: 38263740 DOI: 10.1017/s1355617723011438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) is often used to screen for dementia, but little is known about psychometric validity in American Indians. METHODS We recruited 818 American Indians aged 65-95 for 3MSE examinations in 2010-2013; 403 returned for a repeat examination in 2017-2019. Analyses included standard psychometrics inferences for interpretation, generalizability, and extrapolation: factor analysis; internal consistency-reliability; test-retest score stability; multiple indicator multiple cause structural equation models. RESULTS This cohort was mean age 73, majority female, mean 12 years education, and majority bilingual. The 4-factor and 2nd-order models fit best, with subfactors for orientation and visuo-construction (OVC), language and executive functioning (LEF), psychomotor and working memory (PMWM), verbal and episodic memory (VEM). Factor structure was supported for both research and clinical interpretation, and factor loadings were moderate to high. Scores were generally consistent over mean 7 years. Younger participants performed better in overall scores, but not in individual factors. Males performed better on OVC and LEF, females better on PMWM. Those with more education performed better on LEF and worse on OVC; the converse was true for bilinguals. All differences were significant, but small. CONCLUSION These findings support use of 3MSE for individual interpretation in clinic and research among American Indians, with moderate consistency, stability, reliability over time. Observed extrapolations across age, sex, education, and bilingual groups suggest some important contextual differences may exist.
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Affiliation(s)
- Astrid M Suchy-Dicey
- Huntington Medical Research Institutes, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Washington State University, Elson S Floyd College of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Thao T Vo
- Washington State University, College of Education, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Kyra Oziel
- Washington State University, Elson S Floyd College of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Dedra S Buchwald
- Washington State University, Elson S Floyd College of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Lonnie A Nelson
- Washington State University, College of Nursing, Spokane, WA, USA
| | | | - Brian F French
- Washington State University, College of Education, Pullman, WA, USA
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Sol K, Morris EP, Lee JH, Zaheed AB, Palms JD, Scambray K, Clarke P, Zahodne LB. Histories of neighborhood socioeconomic status contribute to race differences in later-life cognition. Alzheimers Dement 2024; 20:3342-3351. [PMID: 38552138 PMCID: PMC11095476 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Neighborhood characteristics are increasingly implicated in cognitive health disparities, but no research has investigated how the historical context of neighborhoods shapes these disparities. METHODS Four hundred sixty-four Black (55%) and White older adults (Mage = 63.6) were drawn from the Michigan Cognitive Aging Project, a community-based, prospective study of older adults. Participants' addresses at baseline (2017-2020) were geocoded and linked to 2000-2017 measures of neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES): disadvantage [NDis] and affluence [NAff]. Latent class growth analysis (LCGA) characterized 18 interpolated year trajectories of NSES across 1344 census tracts. Path analysis examined whether NSES trajectory classes mediated the association between race and a global cognition composite. RESULTS LCGA identified three NDis and two NAff trajectory classes, which were associated with participant race. Only one NDis class was associated with cognition, and it mediated the association between the Black race and cognition. DISCUSSION Disinvestment in neighborhoods may be particularly salient in race disparities in cognitive function. HIGHLIGHTS Race is implicated in the likelihood of living in more disadvantaged neighborhoods. Historical trends in neighborhood disadvantage are associated with cognitive function in older adulthood. Identifying patterns of neighborhood change may inform neighborhood-level interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ketlyne Sol
- Social Environment and Health Program, Institute for Social ResearchUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Emily P. Morris
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Ji Hyun Lee
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Afsara B. Zaheed
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Jordan D. Palms
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Kiana Scambray
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Philippa Clarke
- Social Environment and Health Program, Institute for Social ResearchUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Laura B. Zahodne
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
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Springstead J, Sol K, Morris EP, Kraal AZ, Zahodne LB. Specific aspects of religious involvement protect against depressive symptoms among immigrant versus U.S.-born, Hispanic older adults. Aging Ment Health 2024; 28:658-666. [PMID: 37811722 PMCID: PMC10963168 DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2023.2265848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study investigates religious involvement and depressive symptoms in Hispanic older adults in the United States. We hypothesized that private prayer, religious attendance, and religious belief would have an inverse association with depressive symptoms, and that these associations would be stronger among immigrants, compared to U.S.-born participants. METHOD This cross-sectional, within-group study included 1,566 participants from the Health and Retirement Study. Multivariate linear regression evaluated the association between religious involvement and depressive symptoms in the whole sample and in subgroups stratified by immigrant status. RESULTS Overall, only more frequent religious attendance was associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Stratified models revealed an additional inverse association between private prayer and depressive symptoms only in the immigrant group. CONCLUSION These findings may help incorporate religious preferences into mental health prevention and treatment to reduce depressive symptoms among older Hispanic adults.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ketlyne Sol
- Social Environment and Health, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
| | | | - A. Zarina Kraal
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University
- Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Columbia University
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University
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Lamar M, Arfanakis K, Evia A, Makkinejad N, Capuano AW, Kim N, Leurgans SE, Fleischman DA, Duke Han S, Poole V, Barnes LL. Changes in an in-vivo classifier of ARTerioloSclerosis (ARTS) with simultaneous change in cognition for older African Americans. Neurobiol Aging 2024; 134:21-27. [PMID: 37979249 PMCID: PMC10845033 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2023.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/20/2023]
Abstract
At autopsy, African American decedents often have mixed Alzheimer's and cerebrovascular brain pathologies including arteriolosclerosis. We applied a novel in-vivo classifier of ARTerioloSclerosis (ARTS) in 167 older African Americans (∼75y of age) with > 2 biennial 3 T MRI scans and > 3 years of associated cognitive follow-up to determine if ARTS scores (higher score=higher likelihood of arteriolosclerosis) changed over time and if this change associated with changes in cognition in the same individuals. Mixed effects regression models tested whether ARTS scores increased over time, while simultaneous mixed effects regression models estimated the simultaneous rates of change in both ARTS and cognition and the correlation of these changes. ARTS scores increased over time (estimate=0.030, SE=0.002, p < 0.0001). Faster increases in ARTS were associated with faster rates of global cognitive decline (r = -0.447, p = 0.006) and domain-specific cognitive functions. Applying an in-vivo marker of arteriolosclerosis in an African American cohort revealed that the likelihood of arteriolosclerosis increases over time, and participants whose ARTS scores increased more rapidly tended to have faster than average rates of cognitive decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Lamar
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | - Konstantinos Arfanakis
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Nazanin Makkinejad
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Ana W Capuano
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, USA; Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Namhee Kim
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, USA; Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Sue E Leurgans
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, USA; Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Debra A Fleischman
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - S Duke Han
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, USA; Department of Family Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Victoria Poole
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, USA; Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Lisa L Barnes
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
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Estrella ML, Tarraf W, Kuwayama S, Gallo LC, Wu B, Marquine MJ, Perreira KM, Vasquez PM, Isasi CR, Lipton RB, Mattei J, González HM, Daviglus ML, Lamar M. Psychosocial factors associated with 7-year change in cognition among middle-aged and older Hispanics/Latinos: The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos-Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging (SOL-INCA) and Sociocultural ancillary studies. Alzheimers Dement 2024; 20:1137-1148. [PMID: 37897802 PMCID: PMC10916974 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/30/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Few studies have examined the associations of psychosocial factors with cognitive change in Hispanics/Latinos. METHODS Data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos-Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging (HCHS/SOL INCA) and Sociocultural studies were used (n = 2,155; ages ≥45 years). Psychosocial exposures included intrapersonal (ethnic identity, optimism, purpose in life), interpersonal (family cohesion, familism, social networks, social support), and social factors (ethnic discrimination, loneliness, subjective social status). Survey-linear regression models examined associations between psychosocial exposures and 7-year cognitive change (global cognition [GC], verbal learning, memory, word fluency [WF], and digit symbol substitution [DSS]). RESULTS Familism predicted decline in GC, verbal learning, and memory; family cohesion predicted DSS decline; and loneliness predicted memory decline. Ethnic identity was protective against decline in GC and memory, optimism and social support were protective against decline in memory, and purpose in life was protective against WF decline. DISCUSSION Psychosocial factors are differentially related to cognitive changes. Culturally relevant factors should be explored in Hispanic/Latino cognitive aging research. HIGHLIGHTS Psychosocial factors are differentially related to cognitive changes in Latinos. Role of culturally relevant factors on cognition should be further explored. Familism predicted decline in global cognition, verbal learning, and memory. Ethnic identity predicted increase in global cognition and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayra L. Estrella
- Department of EpidemiologyHuman Genetics and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) School of Public HealthBrownsvilleTexasUSA
- Institute for Minority Health ResearchUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Wassim Tarraf
- Institute of Gerontology and Department of Healthcare SciencesWayne State UniversityDetroitMichiganUSA
| | - Sayaka Kuwayama
- Department of Neurosciences and Shiley‐Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research CenterUniversity of CaliforniaSan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Linda C. Gallo
- Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Benson Wu
- Department of Neurosciences and Shiley‐Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research CenterUniversity of CaliforniaSan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - María J. Marquine
- Departments of Medicine and PsychiatryDuke Center for the Study of Aging and Human DevelopmentDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Krista M. Perreira
- Department of Social MedicineUniversity of North Carolina School of MedicineChapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Priscilla M. Vasquez
- Department of Urban Public HealthCharles R. Drew University of Medicine and ScienceLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Carmen R. Isasi
- Department of Epidemiology and Population HealthAlbert Einstein College of MedicineBronxNew YorkUSA
| | - Richard B. Lipton
- Department of NeurologyAlbert Einstein College of MedicineNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Josiemer Mattei
- Department of NutritionHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Hector M. González
- Department of Neurosciences and Shiley‐Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research CenterUniversity of CaliforniaSan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Martha L. Daviglus
- Institute for Minority Health ResearchUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Melissa Lamar
- Institute for Minority Health ResearchUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesRush University Medical CenterChicagoIllinoisUSA
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Esiaka D, Odo O, Luth E. Unraveling the Threads: Sleep Difficulties, Neighborhood Physical Disorder, and Subjective Cognitive Decline in Older Americans. J Alzheimers Dis 2024; 100:1345-1354. [PMID: 38995787 DOI: 10.3233/jad-240142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/14/2024]
Abstract
Background Research suggests that the neighborhood in which people live can be a risk or protective factor for various health outcomes, including cognitive decline to Alzheimer's disease. Similar to the impact of neighborhood on health outcomes, sleep difficulties have been linked to cognitive function in older adults. However, few studies have examined how neighborhood physical disorders moderate the effects of sleep on subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Objective The study examined the moderating effect of neighborhood factors on the relationship between sleep difficulties and SCD. Methods Data were obtained from 2,494 respondents (1,065 males and 1,429 females) from Wave 11 of the National Health and Aging Trends (NHATS) data. Sleep difficulties were operationalized as the presence of difficulties in falling and staying asleep. Neighborhood physical disorder (e.g., vandalism, graffiti) was based on interviewer observations of respondents' neighborhoods. SCD was operationalized as subjective reports of increasing or worse memory loss in the past 12 months and present memory rating. We utilized Linear regression to test neighborhood physical disorder as a moderator of the relationship between sleep difficulties and SCD. Results We found a significant interaction between sleep difficulties and neighborhood physical disorder on SCD (β=0.046, p = 0.031, 95% CI[0.00,0.51], p < 0.001). Participants who reported higher average sleep difficulties and higher levels of neighborhood physical disorder were more likely to report SCD. Conclusions Our findings add to inform future health interventions and policy recommendations that address modifiable sources of cognitive decline and risk of Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darlingtina Esiaka
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA
- Center for Health Equity Transformation, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Obinna Odo
- Department of Sociology and Gerontology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
- Scripps Gerontology Center, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
| | - Elizabeth Luth
- Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
- Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
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Ferraro KF, Zaborenko CJ. Race, everyday discrimination, and cognitive function in later life. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0292617. [PMID: 37878577 PMCID: PMC10599523 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Discrimination is pernicious in many ways, but there are inconsistent findings regarding whether it is harmful to cognitive function in later life. To address the inconsistency, we use two closely related concepts of everyday discrimination to predict cognitive trajectories in a diverse sample. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we examine whether the frequency of discrimination, measured at baseline with six questions, is related to poorer cognitive function and change in function over time (2008-2016). Age at baseline ranged from 53 to 100. Growth curve models of initial cognitive function and change in function were estimated. Everyday global discrimination was associated with poorer initial cognition and slower declines over time, and these relationships were not moderated by race and ethnicity. By contrast, the relationship between everyday racial discrimination and cognition was moderated by race: more frequent everyday racial discrimination was associated with better initial cognitive function among Black adults but not among Hispanic and White adults. Discrimination is a multifaceted concept, and specific types of discrimination manifest lower or higher cognitive function during later life for White, Black, and Hispanic adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth F. Ferraro
- Department of Sociology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America
- Center on Aging and the Life Course, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Callie J. Zaborenko
- Department of Sociology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America
- Center on Aging and the Life Course, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America
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Dark HE, Huang A, Cordon J, Deal JA, Palta P, Windham BG, Barnes LL, Kucharska-Newton A, Mosley T, Gottesman RF, Sims M, Griswold M, Rentería MA, Manly JJ, Walker KA. The association of perceived discrimination with dementia risk in Black older adults. Alzheimers Dement 2023; 19:4346-4356. [PMID: 37218405 PMCID: PMC10734390 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Non-Hispanic Black, compared to non-Hispanic White, older adults are at increased risk for dementia. This may be due partly to greater exposure to psychosocial stressors, such as discrimination; however, few studies have examined this association. METHODS We examined the association of perceived discrimination (e.g., everyday, lifetime, and discrimination burden) with dementia risk in 1583 Black adults co-enrolled in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study and the Jackson Heart Study (JHS). Perceived discrimination (defined continuously and using tertiles) was assessed at JHS Exam 1 (2000-2004; mean age ± SD:66.2 ± 5.5) and related to dementia risk through ARIC visit 6 (2017) using covariate-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS Associations of perceived everyday, lifetime, and burden of discrimination with dementia risk were not supported in age-adjusted models or demographic- and cardiovascular health-adjusted models. Results were similar across sex, income, and education. DISCUSSION In this sample, associations between perceived discrimination and dementia risk were not supported. HIGHLIGHTS In Black older adults perceived discrimination not associated with dementia risk. Younger age and greater education linked to greater perceived discrimination. Older age and less education among factors associated with dementia risk. Factors increasing exposure to discrimination (education) are also neuroprotective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather E. Dark
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, 21224
| | - Alison Huang
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
- Cochlear Center for Hearing & Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA
| | - Jenifer Cordon
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, 21224
| | - Jennifer A. Deal
- Cochlear Center for Hearing & Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA
| | - Priya Palta
- Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - B. Gwen Windham
- Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 39216, USA
| | - Lisa L. Barnes
- Department of Neurological Sciences at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| | - Anna Kucharska-Newton
- University of North Carolina, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Thomas Mosley
- Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 39216, USA
| | - Rebecca F. Gottesman
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Intramural Program, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Mario Sims
- Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 39216, USA
| | - Michael Griswold
- Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 39216, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Miguel Arce Rentería
- Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Jennifer J. Manly
- Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Keenan A. Walker
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, 21224
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15
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Jester DJ, Palmer BW, Thomas ML, Brown LL, Tibiriçá L, Jeste DV, Gilmer T. Impact of educational attainment on time to cognitive decline among marginalized older adults: Cohort study of 20,311 adults. J Am Geriatr Soc 2023; 71:2913-2923. [PMID: 37073606 PMCID: PMC10523883 DOI: 10.1111/jgs.18340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 04/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The effect of years of education on the maintenance of healthy cognitive functioning may differ by race and ethnicity given historical and ongoing inequities in educational quality. METHODS We examined 20,311 Black, Latinx, and White adults aged 51-100 from the Health and Retirement Study (2008-2016). Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status-27 data was used to measure cognitive functioning. Generalized additive mixed models were stratified by race and ethnicity and educational attainment (≥12 vs. <12 years). Selected social determinants of health, all-cause mortality, time-varying health and healthcare utilization characteristics, and study wave were included as covariates. RESULTS On average, Black and Latinx adults scored lower at baseline compared to White adults regardless of educational attainment (p < 0.001), with a significant overlap in the distributions of scores. The rate of cognitive decline was non-linear for Black, Latinx, and White adults (p < 0.001), and a period of stability was witnessed for those with higher educational attainment irrespective of race and ethnicity. Compared to Black, Latinx, and White adults with lower educational attainment, higher-educated White adults received the greatest protection from cognitive decline (13 years; 64 vs. 51), followed by Latinx (12 years; 67 vs. 55), and Black adults (10 years; 61 vs. 51). Latinx adults experienced cognitive decline beginning at a later age. CONCLUSIONS The extent to which higher educational attainment protects adults from cognitive decline differs by race and ethnicity, such that higher-educated White adults received a greater benefit than higher-educated Black or Latinx adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan J. Jester
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
- Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Barton W. Palmer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
- Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
- Psychology Division, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
| | - Michael L. Thomas
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Lauren L. Brown
- Division of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
| | - Lize Tibiriçá
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
- Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Dilip V. Jeste
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Todd Gilmer
- Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California
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Muñoz E, Yan J, Tse HW, Zavala D, López BG, Kim SY. Prospective Effects of Discrimination, Depressive Symptoms, and Cognitive Control Among Mexican-Origin Women. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2023; 78:1294-1304. [PMID: 36881689 PMCID: PMC10394994 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbad042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Cognitive control predicts functional independence and cognitive health outcomes, but is yet to be known the extent to which social stress, like discrimination, may diminish cognitive control capacities in Mexican-origin women. We evaluated the prospective associations between everyday and ethnic discrimination on cognitive control and examined the mediating effects of depressive symptoms on these links. We further examined the extent to which associations varied by age and financial strain. METHODS We used data from 596 Mexican-origin women (average age = 38.89, standard deviation = 5.74) who participated in a 3-wave longitudinal study spanning 8 years (from 2012 to 2020). Participants completed measures of everyday and ethnic discrimination at Wave 1, depressive symptoms in Waves 1 and 2, and completed computer-based tasks of cognitive control at Wave 3. Self-reported assessments of financial strain were completed at Wave 2. Moderated mediation structural equation models were implemented to test hypotheses. RESULTS Depressive symptoms significantly mediated the prospective association between everyday/ethnic discrimination to cognitive control. Higher levels of everyday and ethnic discrimination at baseline were associated with more depressive symptoms at Wave 2, which were then related to poorer cognitive control (i.e., longer reaction time in congruent and/or incongruent trials) at Wave 3. There was no significant moderation of age. Among those with low financial strain, higher levels of everyday discrimination were related to faster response times. DISCUSSION Results revealed the long-term consequences of experiences with discrimination on cognitive control that operate through increased depressive symptoms and that may have some subtle differential effects across levels of financial strain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Muñoz
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Jinjin Yan
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Hin Wing Tse
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Daisy Zavala
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
| | - Belem G López
- National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland,USA
| | - Su Yeong Kim
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
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17
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Jester DJ, Kohn JN, Tibiriçá L, Thomas ML, Brown LL, Murphy JD, Jeste DV. Differences in Social Determinants of Health Underlie Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Psychological Health and Well-Being: Study of 11,143 Older Adults. Am J Psychiatry 2023; 180:483-494. [PMID: 37038741 PMCID: PMC10329971 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20220158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The authors sought to determine the impact of selected social determinants of health (SDoH) on psychological health and well-being (defined as depression, cognition, and self-rated health) among Black and Hispanic/Latinx adults relative to White adults 51-89 years of age. METHODS Disparities in depressive symptomatology, cognition, and self-rated health were measured among 2,306 non-Hispanic/Latinx Black, 1,593 Hispanic/Latinx, and 7,244 non-Hispanic/Latinx White adults who participated in the Health and Retirement Study (N=11,143). Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition was used to examine whether differences in selected SDoH explained a larger share of the disparities than age, sex, measures of health, health behaviors, and health care utilization. Selected SDoH included education, parental education, number of years worked, marital status, veteran status, geographic residence, nativity status, income, and insurance coverage. RESULTS Black and Hispanic/Latinx adults reported worse depressive symptomatology, cognition, and self-rated health than White adults. Selected SDoH were associated with a larger proportion of the Black-White disparities in depressive symptomatology (51%), cognition (39%), and self-rated health (37%) than were age, sex, measures of health, health behaviors, and health care utilization. SDoH were associated with a larger proportion of the Hispanic/Latinx-White disparity in cognition (76%) and self-rated health (75%), but age and physical health correlated with the disparity in depressive symptomatology (28%). Education, parental education, years worked, income, and insurance parity were SDoH associated with these disparities. CONCLUSIONS Differences in SDoH underlie racial/ethnic disparities in depression, cognition, and self-rated health among older adults. Education, income, number of years worked, and insurance parity are key SDoH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan J. Jester
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
- Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Jordan N. Kohn
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
- Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Lize Tibiriçá
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
- Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Michael L. Thomas
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Lauren L. Brown
- Divison of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
| | - James D. Murphy
- Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Dilip V. Jeste
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
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18
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Rosso AL, Troxel WM, Gary-Webb TL, Weinstein AM, Butters MA, Palimaru A, Ghosh-Dastidar B, Wagner L, Nugroho A, Hunter G, Parker J, Dubowitz T. Design of the think PHRESH longitudinal cohort study: Neighborhood disadvantage, cognitive aging, and alzheimer's disease risk in disinvested, black neighborhoods. BMC Public Health 2023; 23:636. [PMID: 37013498 PMCID: PMC10069058 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15381-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Black Americans have disproportionately higher rates and earlier onset of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) relative to White Americans. We currently lack a comprehensive understanding of how the lived experience and broader societal factors, including cumulative exposure to structural racism and the mechanisms underlying the risks, may contribute to elevated ADRD risk in Black Americans. METHODS The Think PHRESH study builds on existing, community-based research infrastructure, from the ongoing Pittsburgh Hill/Homewood Research on Neighborhood Change and Health (PHRESH) studies, to examine the contributions of dynamic neighborhood socioeconomic conditions across the lifecourse to cognitive outcomes in mid- and late-life adults living in two historically disinvested, predominantly Black communities (anticipated n = 1133). This longitudinal, mixed-methods study rests on the premise that neighborhood racial segregation and subsequent disinvestment contributes to poor cognitive outcomes via factors including (a) low access to educational opportunities and (b) high exposure to race- and socioeconomically-relevant stressors, such as discrimination, trauma, and adverse childhood events. In turn, these cumulative exposures foster psychological vigilance in residents, leading to cardiometabolic dysregulation and sleep disruption, which may mediate associations between neighborhood disadvantage and ADRD risk. This premise recognizes the importance of potential protective factors that may promote cognitive health, including neighborhood social cohesion, safety, and satisfaction. The proposed study will leverage our existing longitudinal data on risk/protective factors and biobehavioral mediators and will include: (1) up to three waves of cognitive assessments in participants ages 50 years + and one assessment in participants ages 35-49 years; clinical adjudication of ADRD will be completed in participants who are 50+, (2) extensive surveys of risk and protective factors, (3) two assessments of blood pressure and objectively measured sleep, (4) a comprehensive assessment of life and residential history; and (5) two rounds of in-depth qualitative interviews to reveal lifecourse opportunities and barriers experienced by Black Americans in achieving optimal cognitive health in late life. DISCUSSION Understanding how structural racism has influenced the lived experience of Black Americans, including dynamic changes in neighborhood conditions over time, is critical to inform multi-level intervention and policy efforts to reduce pervasive racial and socioeconomic disparities in ADRD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea L Rosso
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, US.
| | - Wendy M Troxel
- Division of Behavior and Policy Sciences, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, US
| | - Tiffany L Gary-Webb
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, US
| | | | - Meryl A Butters
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, US
| | - Alina Palimaru
- Division of Behavior and Policy Sciences, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, US
| | | | - La'Vette Wagner
- Division of Behavior and Policy Sciences, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, US
| | - Alvin Nugroho
- Survey Research Group, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, US
| | - Gerald Hunter
- Division of Behavior and Policy Sciences, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, US
| | | | - Tamara Dubowitz
- Division of Behavior and Policy Sciences, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, US
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19
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McDonough IM, Cody SL, Harrell ER, Garrett SL, Popp TE. Cognitive differences across ethnoracial category, socioeconomic status across the Alzheimer's disease spectrum: Can an ability discrepancy score level the playing field? Mem Cognit 2023; 51:543-560. [PMID: 35338450 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-022-01304-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
An ability discrepancy (crystallized minus fluid abilities) might be a personally relevant cognitive marker of risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and might help reduce measurement bias often present in traditional measures of cognition. In a large national sample of adults aged 60-104 years (N = 14,257), we investigated whether the intersectionality of group characteristics previously shown to pose a risk for AD including ethnoracial category, socioeconomic status, and sex (a) differed in ability discrepancy compared to traditional neuropsychological tests and (b) moderated the relationship between an ability discrepancy and AD symptom severity. In cognitively normal older adults, results indicated that across each decade, fluid and memory composite scores generally exhibited large group differences with sex, education, and ethnoracial category. In contrast, the ability discrepancy score showed much smaller group differences, thus removing much of the biases inherent in the tests. Women with higher education differed in discrepancy performance from other groups, suggesting a subgroup in which this score might reduce bias to a lesser extent. Importantly, a greater ability discrepancy was associated with greater AD symptom severity across the AD continuum. Subgroup analyses suggest that this relationship holds for all groups except for some subgroups of Hispanic Americans. These findings suggest that an ability discrepancy measure might be a better indicator of baseline cognition than traditional measures that show more egregious measurement bias across diverse groups of people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian M McDonough
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Box 870348, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA.
| | - Shameka L Cody
- College of Nursing, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
| | - Erin R Harrell
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Box 870348, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA
| | | | - Taylor E Popp
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Box 870348, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA
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20
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Kopel J, Sehar U, Choudhury M, Reddy PH. Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias in African Americans: Focus on Caregivers. Healthcare (Basel) 2023; 11:healthcare11060868. [PMID: 36981525 PMCID: PMC10048201 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11060868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias (ADRD) are chronic illnesses that are highly prevalent in African Americans (AA). AD and ADRD are caused by multiple factors, such as genetic mutations, modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors, and lifestyle. Histopathological, morphological, and cellular studies revealed how multiple cellular changes are implicated in AD and ADRD, including synaptic damage, inflammatory responses, hormonal imbalance, mitochondrial abnormalities, and neuronal loss, in addition to the accumulation of amyloid beta and phosphorylated tau in the brain. The contributions of race, ethnicity, location and socioeconomic status all have a significant impact on the care and support services available to dementia patients. Furthermore, disparities in health care are entangled with social, economic, and environmental variables that perpetuate disadvantages among different groups, particularly African Americans. As such, it remains important to understand how various racial and ethnic groups perceive, access, and experience health care. Considering that the mounting data shows AA may be more susceptible to AD than white people, the demographic transition creates significant hurdles in providing adequate care from family caregivers. Furthermore, there is growing recognition that AD and ADRD pose a significant stress on AA caregivers compared to white people. In this review, we examine the current literature on racial disparities in AD and ADRD, particularly concerning AA caregivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Kopel
- Department of Internal Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA
| | - Ujala Sehar
- Department of Internal Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA
| | - Moumita Choudhury
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, School Health Professions, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA
| | - P. Hemachandra Reddy
- Department of Internal Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, School Health Professions, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA
- Department of Public Health, School of Population and Public Health, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA
- Neurology, Departments of School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA
- Nutritional Sciences Department, College of Human Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-806-743-3194
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21
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Zahodne LB, Sharifian N, Kraal AZ, Morris EP, Sol K, Zaheed AB, Meister L, Mayeux R, Schupf N, Manly JJ, Brickman AM. Longitudinal associations between racial discrimination and hippocampal and white matter hyperintensity volumes among older Black adults. Soc Sci Med 2023; 316:114789. [PMID: 35164975 PMCID: PMC9579996 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Non-Hispanic Black older adults are at higher risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) than non-Hispanic Whites, which reflects racial disparities in both brain and cognitive health. Discrimination may contribute to these disparities, but much of the research on discrimination and ADRD outcomes is cross-sectional and/or does not disaggregate experiences of discrimination by attribution. Focusing specifically on racial discrimination and considering longitudinal brain outcomes may advance our understanding of the role of discrimination in explaining disproportionate rates of ADRD among non-Hispanic Black older adults. METHODS In total, 221 non-Hispanic Black participants in the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project completed multiple measures of discrimination at one time point and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at two time points. Everyday discrimination and lifetime discrimination were operationalized first as aggregate experiences of discrimination (regardless of identity attributions) and then as racial discrimination per se. MRI outcomes included hippocampal and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volumes. Latent difference score models estimated associations between the discrimination measures and each MRI outcome over four years. RESULTS Aggregate discrimination (regardless of attributions) was not associated with either outcome. Lifetime racial discrimination was associated with lower initial hippocampal volume. Everyday racial discrimination was associated with faster accumulation of WMH over time. CONCLUSIONS Racial discrimination may be detrimental for brain aging among non-Hispanic Black older adults, which may contribute to their disproportionate dementia burden. Disaggregating discrimination by attribution may clarify research on racial inequalities in brain and cognitive aging, as racial discrimination appears to be particularly toxic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura B Zahodne
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, United States.
| | - Neika Sharifian
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, United States
| | - A Zarina Kraal
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, United States
| | - Emily P Morris
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, United States
| | - Ketlyne Sol
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, United States
| | - Afsara B Zaheed
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, United States
| | - Lindsey Meister
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, United States
| | - Richard Mayeux
- Department of Neurology, Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center and Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, United States
| | - Nicole Schupf
- Department of Neurology, Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center and Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, United States
| | - Jennifer J Manly
- Department of Neurology, Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center and Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, United States
| | - Adam M Brickman
- Department of Neurology, Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center and Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, United States
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22
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McDonough IM, Byrd DR, Choi SL. Resilience resources may buffer some middle-aged and older Black Americans from memory decline despite experiencing discrimination. Soc Sci Med 2023; 316:114998. [PMID: 35537879 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Revised: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Experiences of discrimination have been associated with poorer episodic memory in Black Americans. However, resilience resources at multiple levels (individual, social, and endowed) may act as a buffer to protect future memory decline, especially in the face of discrimination. OBJECTIVE Using longitudinal data from the 2006-2016 Health and Retirement Study (N = 1862), we tested whether Black Americans aged 50 and older would show different trajectories of episodic memory depending on their reported experiences of discrimination (everyday and major lifetime) and resilience resources. METHODS Analyses were conducted in three steps: (1) joint latent cluster mixed modeling (JLCMM) to estimate the number of classes, (2) barycentric discriminant analyses (BADA) to model the combined influence of discrimination and resilience resources between each memory class, and (3) multinomial regression analyses to explore interactions between discrimination and resilience resources. RESULTS JLCMM resulted in three memory classes that differentiated baseline from longitudinal memory performance: "High Decliners," "Low Decliners," and "Low Stable." Two independent patterns described the relationships between the three classes in the context of discrimination and resilience resources. First, compared with High Decliners, the two lower baseline memory classes (Low Decliners and Low Stable) reported more everyday discrimination and lower individual and endowed resilience resources. Second, although the Low Stable class did not report different levels of discrimination, they had more social resilience resources (greater social support and more social contact) than both declining classes. CONCLUSIONS Black Americans in later life have heterogeneous patterns of memory trajectories as demonstrated by the three memory classes identified. Those with lower baseline memory experienced more everyday discrimination and had fewer resilience resources compared to those with high baseline performance (High Decliners). Greater social resilience resources were associated with maintained episodic memory over time in Black Americans.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - DeAnnah R Byrd
- Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, USA
| | - Shinae L Choi
- Department of Consumer Sciences, The University of Alabama, USA
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Kindratt TB, Dallo FJ, Zahodne LB, Ajrouch KJ. Cognitive Limitations Among Middle Eastern and North African Immigrants. J Aging Health 2022; 34:1244-1253. [PMID: 35606926 PMCID: PMC9633450 DOI: 10.1177/08982643221103712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To estimate and compare the prevalence of cognitive limitations among Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) immigrants compared to US- and foreign-born non-Hispanic Whites from Europe (including Russia/former USSR) and examine differences after controlling for risk factors. METHODS Cross-sectional data using linked 2000-2017 National Health Interview Survey and 2001-2018 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data (ages >=65 years, n = 24,827) were analyzed. RESULTS The prevalence of cognitive limitations was 17.3% among MENA immigrants compared to 9.6% and 13.6% among US- and foreign-born non-Hispanic Whites from Europe. MENA immigrants had higher odds (OR = 1.88; 95% CI = 1.06-3.34) of reporting a cognitive limitation than US-born non-Hispanic Whites after controlling for age, sex, education, hearing loss, hypertension, depression, social isolation, and diabetes. DISCUSSION To further examine cognitive health among the MENA aging population, policy changes are needed to identify this group that is often absent from research because of their federal classification as non-Hispanic Whites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiffany B. Kindratt
- Public Health Program, Department of Kinesiology, College of Nursing and Health Innovation, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA
| | - Florence J. Dallo
- Department of Public and Environmental Wellness, School of Health Sciences, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA
| | - Laura B. Zahodne
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Kristine J. Ajrouch
- Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, USA
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Staben OE, Infurna FJ, Lachman ME, Gerstorf D. Examining Racial Disparities in Historical Change of Mental and Physical Health Across Midlife and Old Age in the United States. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2022; 77:1978-1989. [PMID: 34928351 PMCID: PMC9683502 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbab232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To examine whether racial disparities are narrowing or widening with historical time among U.S. middle-aged and older adults, and test the extent to which educational attainment moderates racial disparities over historical time. METHODS Multilevel models were applied to longitudinal data on middle-aged (ages 40-65) and older adults (ages 66 and older) from the Health and Retirement Study. Historical change was indexed as cohort or birth year. The outcomes of focus were depressive symptoms, episodic memory, health conditions, functional limitations, and self-rated health. RESULTS Results revealed a differential pattern of racial disparities in historical change between midlife and old age. Across midlife and old age, on average, Blacks and Hispanics reported poorer levels of mental and physical health, compared with Whites. In midlife, racial disparities narrowed with historical time; later-born cohorts of Hispanics but not Whites reported fewer depressive symptoms than their earlier-born peers. Likewise, historical improvements in health were stronger among Hispanics and Blacks than Whites. Conversely, in old age, later-born cohorts across race consistently showed historical improvements in each of the outcomes examined. Regarding educational attainment, we observed little consistent evidence that health-promoting effects of educational attainment differ across race and cohort. Examining questions about heterogeneity, results revealed that in midlife and old age there was greater heterogeneity between race across each of the outcomes. DISCUSSION Our discussion elaborates on reasons behind the documented racial differences in historical changes among U.S. middle-aged and older adults, and how the protective role of education is changing over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omar E Staben
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Frank J Infurna
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Margie E Lachman
- Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Denis Gerstorf
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
- Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, USA
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Hamler TC, Nguyen AW, Keith V, Qin W, Wang F. How Skin Tone Influences Relationships Between Discrimination, Psychological Distress, and Self-Rated Mental Health Among Older African Americans. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2022; 77:2026-2037. [PMID: 35976084 PMCID: PMC9683503 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbac115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES As within-group differences have emerged as a key area of inquiry for health disparities among African Americans, skin tone has been identified as an important factor. This study aims to examine: (a) the moderating role of skin tone in the relationship between discrimination, self-rated mental health, and serious psychological distress (SPD) and (b) whether this moderating effect differs across genders in a nationally representative sample of older African Americans. METHODS Analyses were conducted on a subsample of African Americans aged 55+ (N = 837) from the National Survey of American Life. The mental health outcomes were SPD and self-rated mental health. Discrimination was assessed with the Everyday Discrimination Scale. Skin tone was self-reported. Multiple linear regressions tested the study aims. RESULTS Discrimination was associated with worse self-rated mental health and SPD in the total sample and among women. Skin tone moderated the association between discrimination and SPD in the total sample and among men and women. The associations between discrimination and mental health outcomes were stronger among darker-skinned respondents than lighter respondents. Gender-stratified analyses indicated skin tone moderated the association between discrimination and self-rated mental health for men but not women. DISCUSSION This study contributes to the emerging body of literature on skin tone, discrimination, and mental health. Uncovering mechanisms behind the "why" is an important next step in understanding how skin tone influences the relationship between discrimination and mental health. The negative psychological effects associated with darker complexion provide several areas to be examined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyrone C Hamler
- Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA
| | - Ann W Nguyen
- Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Verna Keith
- Department of Sociology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Weidi Qin
- Center for Social Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Fei Wang
- Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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Liu C, Murchland AR, VanderWeele TJ, Blacker D. Eliminating racial disparities in dementia risk by equalizing education quality: A sensitivity analysis. Soc Sci Med 2022; 312:115347. [PMID: 36162365 PMCID: PMC9990698 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Higher risk of dementia among racial/ethnic minorities compared to White populations in the U.S. has been attributed to life-course exposures to adverse conditions such as lower educational attainment, but most studies have not considered additional disparities in education quality. We sought to determine the extent to which disparities in dementia would be reduced had different racial groups received the same quality of education, with no change to present disparities in educational attainment. METHODS We conducted a literature review to assess whether and how measures of educational attainment and quality are utilized in the development of norms for standard cognitive screening measures. In a separate search of the literature, we identified estimates of relationships between race, education quality and dementia; and calculated the adjusted association between race and dementia had education quality been equalized between Black and White participants. RESULTS Most norms for cognitive measures included educational attainment, but few addressed quality. Our search identified relevant parameter estimates: 44.3% of Black participants and 10.5% of White participants had "limited literacy" (<9th grade reading level, a potential marker of poor education quality), which was associated with a 53% greater hazard of dementia compared with "adequate literacy" (≥ 9th grade reading level) after adjusting for educational attainment. Applying these parameters to a hazard ratio of 1.37 (95%CI: 1.12,1.67) for the risk of dementia comparing Black to White participants, we obtained an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.17 (0.96,1.43), a 54% reduction. DISCUSSION Present studies are limited in their consideration of education quality. Our work using available measures from the literature suggests that if education quality were equalized across groups by race, without changing disparities in attainment, racial disparities in dementia would be reduced by about half. Future work should seek to consistently incorporate education quality in order to better understand the sources of disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chelsea Liu
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Audrey R Murchland
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tyler J VanderWeele
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Deborah Blacker
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Muñoz E, Robins RW, Sutin AR. Perceived ethnic discrimination and cognitive function: A 12-year longitudinal study of Mexican-origin adults. Soc Sci Med 2022; 311:115296. [PMID: 36088721 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Hispanic/Latinx adults are at increased risk for cognitive impairment, and it is critically important to identify modifiable risk factors for cognitive impairment in this population. We addressed two key questions: (1) How does perceived discrimination change across middle adulthood? And, (2) how are discrimination and the trajectory of discrimination associated with cognitive function? METHODS We used data from 1,110 Mexican-origin adults between 26 and 62 years old (63% female; 85% born in Mexico). Participants completed a perceived ethnic discrimination scale five times across 12 years and completed cognitive assessments in the last wave, which were composited into a measure of overall cognitive function. We used latent growth curve models to estimate the longitudinal trajectory of perceived ethnic discrimination and growth mixture models to identify sub-groups of change trajectories. We evaluated whether patterns of perceived discrimination trajectories, baseline, intermediary, and concurrent discrimination predicted cognitive function at the last wave. RESULTS Perceived ethnic discrimination decreased over time on average. Significant individual differences in within-person change revealed two change trajectory classes: Stable Low and High Declining. The Stable Low class had better cognitive performance compared to the High Declining class, but this effect was not robust to educational attainment. Perceived discrimination at the last wave was associated with worse cognitive function, and this effect remained after accounting for covariates. CONCLUSIONS This study is among the first to evaluate changes in perceived ethnic discrimination in a sample of Mexican-origin adults and their associations with cognitive function. The results highlight the need for more research to better understand the role of discrimination and other social stressors on cognitive health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Muñoz
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
| | - Richard W Robins
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Angelina R Sutin
- Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL, USA
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Temple J, Wilson T, Brijnath B, Radford K, LoGiudice D, Utomo A, Anstey KJ. The role of demographic change in explaining the growth of Australia's older migrant population living with dementia, 2016-2051. Aust N Z J Public Health 2022; 46:661-667. [PMID: 36047851 DOI: 10.1111/1753-6405.13276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Revised: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To examine the demographic drivers contributing to the future growth in the population of older migrants in Australia living with dementia. METHODS Using birthplace-specific cohort-component projection models, we projected the number of older migrants living with dementia. ABS data on births, deaths, migration and birthplace were used, alongside Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) estimates of dementia prevalence with birthplace dementia weights calculated from administrative data. RESULTS The number of older migrants living with dementia is projected to increase from about 134,423 in 2016 to 378,724 by 2051. Increases in populations with dementia varied considerably, from a slight decrease for those born in Southern & Eastern Europe to over 600% increases amongst the South-East Asia, Southern & Central Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa-born populations. CONCLUSIONS Cohort flow is the primary driver increasing the number of older migrants living with dementia. This growth is largely inevitable because the cohorts are already living in Australia as part of the migrant population, but currently at ages below 60 years. IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH High relative growth and shifting birthplace composition in the number of migrants living with dementia poses implications for culturally appropriate care, health care access and workforce needs to support migrant families, carers and their communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeromey Temple
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Victoria
| | - Tom Wilson
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Victoria
| | | | - Kylie Radford
- Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales
| | - Dina LoGiudice
- Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria
| | - Ariane Utomo
- School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria
| | - Kaarin J Anstey
- Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales
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Wyman MF, Van Hulle CA, Umucu E, Livingston S, Lambrou NH, Carter FP, Johnson SC, Asthana S, Gleason CE, Zuelsdorff M. Psychological well-being and cognitive aging in Black, Native American, and White Alzheimer's Disease Research Center participants. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:924845. [PMID: 35967004 PMCID: PMC9372578 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.924845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Psychological well-being is associated with cognition in later life but has not been examined across diverse populations-including minoritized communities at disproportionately high risk of dementia. Further, most previous work has not been able to examine links between specific facets of psychological well-being and performance within distinct cognitive domains that can capture subclinical impairment. Using a well-characterized sample followed through enrollment in an NIH-funded Alzheimer's Disease Center, we sought to test these associations within three racial groups at baseline. Participants were N = 529 cognitively unimpaired Black, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), and white middle-aged and older adults (mean age = 63.6, SD = 8.1, range = 45-88 years) enrolled in the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center's Clinical Core. Predictors included validated NIH Toolbox Emotion Battery scales assessing positive affect, general life satisfaction, and meaning and purpose. Outcomes included performance on widely used tests of executive functioning and episodic memory. We conducted race-stratified regression models to assess within-group relationships. Black and AI/AN participants reported lower life satisfaction than white participants. Racial disparities were not observed for positive affect or meaning and purpose scores. Across groups, life satisfaction predicted better executive functioning. Similar associations were observed for positive affect in Black and AI/AN samples but not among whites. In general, well-being measures were not related to performance on tests of episodic memory. Our results highlight well-being as a potentially important determinant of late-life cognitive health, particularly executive functioning, that is modifiable if older adults are connected with appropriate resources and supports. Further, psychological well-being may represent a potent target for brain health interventions tailored for Black and Native communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary F. Wyman
- W.S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, United States
- School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Carol A. Van Hulle
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Emre Umucu
- Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Sydnee Livingston
- School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Nickolas H. Lambrou
- W.S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, United States
- School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Fabu P. Carter
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Sterling C. Johnson
- W.S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, United States
- School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Sanjay Asthana
- W.S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, United States
- School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Carey E. Gleason
- W.S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, United States
- School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Megan Zuelsdorff
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
- School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
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Marquine MJ, Gallo LC, Tarraf W, Wu B, Moore AA, Vásquez PM, Talavera G, Allison M, Muñoz E, Isasi CR, Perreira KM, Bigornia SJ, Daviglus M, Estrella ML, Zeng D, González HM. The Association of Stress, Metabolic Syndrome, and Systemic Inflammation With Neurocognitive Function in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos and Its Sociocultural Ancillary Study. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2022; 77:860-871. [PMID: 34378777 PMCID: PMC9071500 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbab150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Identifying sociocultural correlates of neurocognitive dysfunction among Hispanics/Latinos, and their underlying biological pathways, is crucial for understanding disparities in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. We examined cross-sectional associations between stress and neurocognition, and the role that metabolic syndrome (MetS) and systemic inflammation might play in these associations. METHOD Participants included 3,045 adults aged 45-75 (56% female, education 0-20+ years, 86% Spanish-speaking, 23% U.S.-born), enrolled in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos and its Sociocultural Ancillary Study. Global neurocognition was the primary outcome and operationalized as the average of the z scores of measures of learning and memory, word fluency, and processing speed. Stress measures included self-report assessments of stress appraisal (perceived and acculturative stress) and exposure to chronic and traumatic stressors. MetS was defined via established criteria including waist circumference, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, fasting plasma glucose, and high levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Systemic inflammation was represented by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). RESULTS Separate survey multivariable linear regression models adjusting for covariates showed that higher perceived (b = -0.004, SE = 0.002, p < .05) and acculturative stress (b = -0.004, SE = 0.001, p < .0001) were significantly associated with worse global neurocognition, while lifetime exposure to traumatic stressors was associated with better global neurocognition (b = 0.034, SE = 0.009, p < .001). Neither MetS nor hs-CRP were notable pathways in the association between stress and neurocognition; rather, they were both independently associated with worse neurocognition in models including stress measures (ps < .05). DISCUSSION These cross-sectional analyses suggest that stress appraisal, MetS, and systemic inflammation may be targets to reduce neurocognitive dysfunction among Hispanics/Latinos.
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Affiliation(s)
- María J Marquine
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Linda C Gallo
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Wassim Tarraf
- Department of Healthcare Sciences, Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA
| | - Benson Wu
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Alison A Moore
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Priscilla M Vásquez
- Department of Urban Public Health, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Gregory Talavera
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Matthew Allison
- Department of Family Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Elizabeth Muñoz
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Carmen R Isasi
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Krista M Perreira
- Department of Social Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Sherman J Bigornia
- Department of Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Martha Daviglus
- Institute of Minority Health Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Mayra L Estrella
- Institute of Minority Health Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Donglin Zeng
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Hector M González
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
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Wang K, Maglalang DD, Woo B, De Fries CM, Hasche LK, Falcón LM. Perceived discrimination and cognitive function among older Puerto Ricans in Boston: The mediating role of depression. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2022; 37:10.1002/gps.5717. [PMID: 35460286 PMCID: PMC9153945 DOI: 10.1002/gps.5717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To examine (1) the association between perceived discrimination, including everyday perceived discrimination and major lifetime perceived discrimination, and cognitive function and (2) the mediating role of depression between discrimination and cognitive function among older Puerto Ricans. METHODS Data came from the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study, collected from 562 Puerto Ricans aged 60+. Structural Equation Modelling was used to examine the association between discrimination and cognitive function and the mediating effect of depression. RESULTS Everyday perceived discrimination was negatively associated with cognitive function, which was fully mediated by depression. Major Lifetime perceived discrimination was not associated with cognitive function. CONCLUSIONS The findings contribute new information regarding the impact of perceived discrimination on cognitive function among older Puerto Ricans and underscore the importance of assessing experiences of discrimination to prevent depression and cognitive decline in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Bongki Woo
- University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
| | | | | | - Luis M. Falcón
- University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
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Laptop-Administered NIH Toolbox and Cogstate Brief Battery in Community-Dwelling Black Adults: Unexpected Pattern of Cognitive Performance between MCI and Healthy Controls. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2022; 28:239-248. [PMID: 33752763 PMCID: PMC10112283 DOI: 10.1017/s135561772100028x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Black adults are approximately twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease (AD) than non-Hispanic Whites and access diagnostic services later in their illness. This dictates the need to develop assessments that are cost-effective, easily administered, and sensitive to preclinical stages of AD, such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Two computerized cognitive batteries, NIH Toolbox-Cognition and Cogstate Brief Battery, have been developed. However, utility of these measures for clinical characterization remains only partially determined. We sought to determine the convergent validity of these computerized measures in relation to consensus diagnosis in a sample of MCI and healthy controls (HC). METHOD Participants were community-dwelling Black adults who completed the neuropsychological battery and other Uniform Data Set (UDS) forms from the AD centers program for consensus diagnosis (HC = 61; MCI = 43) and the NIH Toolbox-Cognition and Cogstate batteries. Discriminant function analysis was used to determine which cognitive tests best differentiated the groups. RESULTS NIH Toolbox crystallized measures, Oral Reading and Picture Vocabulary, were the most sensitive in identifying MCI apart from HC. Secondarily, deficits in memory and executive subtests were also predictive. UDS neuropsychological test analyses showed the expected pattern of memory and executive functioning tests differentiating MCI from HC. CONCLUSIONS Contrary to expectation, NIH Toolbox crystallized abilities appeared preferentially sensitive to diagnostic group differences. This study highlights the importance of further research into the validity and clinical utility of computerized neuropsychological tests within ethnic minority populations.
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Abstract
We reviewed research that examines racism as an independent variable and one or more health outcomes as dependent variables in Black American adults aged 50 years and older in the USA. Of the 43 studies we reviewed, most measured perceived interpersonal racism, perceived institutional racism, or residential segregation. The only two measures of structural racism were birth and residence in a "Jim Crow state." Fourteen studies found associations between racism and mental health outcomes, five with cardiovascular outcomes, seven with cognition, two with physical function, two with telomere length, and five with general health/other health outcomes. Ten studies found no significant associations in older Black adults. All but six of the studies were cross-sectional. Research to understand the extent of structural and multilevel racism as a social determinant of health and the impact on older adults specifically is needed. Improved measurement tools could help address this gap in science.
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Noren Hooten N, Pacheco NL, Smith JT, Evans MK. The accelerated aging phenotype: The role of race and social determinants of health on aging. Ageing Res Rev 2022; 73:101536. [PMID: 34883202 PMCID: PMC10862389 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2021.101536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The pursuit to discover the fundamental biology and mechanisms of aging within the context of the physical and social environment is critical to designing interventions to prevent and treat its complex phenotypes. Aging research is critically linked to understanding health disparities because these inequities shape minority aging, which may proceed on a different trajectory than the overall population. Health disparities are characteristically seen in commonly occurring age-associated diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease as well as diabetes mellitus and cancer. The early appearance and increased severity of age-associated disease among African American and low socioeconomic status (SES) individuals suggests that the factors contributing to the emergence of health disparities may also induce a phenotype of 'premature aging' or 'accelerated aging' or 'weathering'. In marginalized and low SES populations with high rates of early onset age-associated disease the interaction of biologic, psychosocial, socioeconomic and environmental factors may result in a phenotype of accelerated aging biologically similar to premature aging syndromes with increased susceptibility to oxidative stress, premature accumulation of oxidative DNA damage, defects in DNA repair and higher levels of biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation. Health disparities, therefore, may be the end product of this complex interaction in populations at high risk. This review will examine the factors that drive both health disparities and the accelerated aging phenotype that ultimately contributes to premature mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Noren Hooten
- Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Science, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Natasha L Pacheco
- Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Science, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Jessica T Smith
- Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Science, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Michele K Evans
- Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Science, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
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Alzheimer disease in African American individuals: increased incidence or not enough data? Nat Rev Neurol 2021; 18:56-62. [PMID: 34873310 PMCID: PMC8647782 DOI: 10.1038/s41582-021-00589-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Research on racial differences in Alzheimer disease (AD) dementia has increased in recent years. Older African American individuals bear a disproportionate burden of AD and cognitive impairment compared with non-Latino white individuals. Tremendous progress has been made over the past two decades in our understanding of the neurobiological substrates of AD. However, owing to well-documented challenges of study participant recruitment and a persistent lack of biological data in the African American population, knowledge of the drivers of these racial disparities has lagged behind. Therapeutic targets and effective interventions for AD are increasingly sought, but without a better understanding of the disease in African American individuals, any identified treatments and/or cures will evade this rapidly growing at-risk population. In this Perspective, I introduce three key obstacles to progress in understanding racial differences in AD: uncertainty about diagnostic criteria, disparate cross-sectional and longitudinal findings; and a dearth of neuropathological data. I also highlight evidence-informed strategies to move the field forward. In this Perspective, Barnes introduces three key obstacles to progress in our understanding of racial differences in Alzheimer disease and highlights evidence-informed strategies that can move the field forward.
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Zahodne LB. Biopsychosocial pathways in dementia inequalities: Introduction to the Michigan Cognitive Aging Project. AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST 2021; 76:1470-1481. [PMID: 35266748 PMCID: PMC9205325 DOI: 10.1037/amp0000936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Racial/ethnic inequalities in dementia risk are a major public health and health justice concern. Group differences that persist despite adjustment for socioeconomic and vascular indicators suggest that known dementia risk factors exhibit differential impact across race/ethnicity and/or there are unrecognized dementia risk factors that are racially patterned. This article provides targeted examples of both of these possibilities. First, depressive symptoms and white matter hyperintensities represent two known dementia risk factors that more strongly relate to negative cognitive outcomes among Black older adults than Whites, pointing to the need to consider contextual factors. Second, racial discrimination and external perceived control predict worse brain and cognitive aging above and beyond known risk factors. These psychosocial factors warrant explicit consideration in dementia cohort studies. Several challenges appear to be particularly relevant to the study of dementia inequalities, including selective survival and recruitment. These challenges complicate not only cross-study comparisons, but also within-study causal inferences. This article provides recommendations for addressing these challenges in order to accelerate high-quality research on dementia inequalities. Stemming from these recommendations, the article introduces the design and methods of the Michigan Cognitive Aging Project, a new, racially-balanced cohort study of Black and White adults transitioning to late life. In sum, careful research with community partners is needed to more fully explore the factors and contexts that create and sustain racial/ethnic disparities, as well as those that buffer against them. The ultimate goal of this research is to facilitate the dismantling of structural barriers to health justice for diverse older people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Letang SK, Lin SSH, Parmelee PA, McDonough IM. Ethnoracial disparities in cognition are associated with multiple socioeconomic status-stress pathways. Cogn Res Princ Implic 2021; 6:64. [PMID: 34626254 PMCID: PMC8502192 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-021-00329-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Systemic racism can have broad impacts on health in ethnoracial minorities. One way is by suppressing socioeconomic status (SES) levels through barriers to achieve higher income, wealth, and educational attainment. Additionally, the weathering hypothesis proposes that the various stressful adversities faced by ethnoracial minorities lead to greater wear and tear on the body, known as allostatic load. In the present study, we extend these ideas to cognitive health in a tri-ethnic sample of young adults-when cognition and brain health is arguably at their peak. Specifically, we tested competing mediation models that might shed light on how two key factors caused by systemic racism-SES and perceived stress-intersect to explain ethnoracial disparities in cognition. We found evidence for partial mediation via a pathway from SES to stress on episodic memory, working memory capacity, and executive function in Black Americans relative to non-Hispanic White Americans. Additionally, we found that stress partially mediated the ethnoracial disparities in working memory updating for lower SES Black and Hispanic Americans relative to non-Hispanic White Americans, showing that higher SES can sometimes reduce the negative effects stress has on these disparities in some cognitive domains. Overall, these findings suggest that multiple pathways exist in which lower SES creates a stressful environment to impact ethnoracial disparities cognition. These pathways differ depending on the specific ethnoracial category and cognitive domain. The present results may offer insight into strategies to help mitigate the late-life risk for neurocognitive disorders in ethnoracial minorities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah K Letang
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, 505 Hackberry Lane, BOX 870348, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA
| | - Shayne S-H Lin
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, 505 Hackberry Lane, BOX 870348, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA
| | - Patricia A Parmelee
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, 505 Hackberry Lane, BOX 870348, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA
- Alabama Research Institute on Aging, Tuscaloosa, USA
| | - Ian M McDonough
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, 505 Hackberry Lane, BOX 870348, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA.
- Alabama Research Institute on Aging, Tuscaloosa, USA.
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Mediators and Moderators of the Association Between Perceived Stress and Episodic Memory in Diverse Older Adults. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2021; 27:883-895. [PMID: 33292897 PMCID: PMC8187476 DOI: 10.1017/s1355617720001253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Stress is a risk factor for numerous negative health outcomes, including cognitive impairment in late-life. The negative association between stress and cognition may be mediated by depressive symptoms, which separate studies have identified as both a consequence of perceived stress and a risk factor for cognitive decline. Pathways linking perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and cognition may be moderated by sociodemographics and psychosocial resources. The goal of this cross-sectional study was to identify modifying factors and enhance understanding of the mechanisms underlying the stress-cognition association in a racially and ethnically diverse sample of older adults. METHOD A linear regression estimated the association between perceived stress and episodic memory in 578 older adults (Mage = 74.58) in the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project. Subsequent models tested whether depressive symptoms mediated the stress-memory relationship and whether sociodemographics (gender, race, and ethnicity) or perceived control moderated these pathways. RESULTS Independent of sociodemographics and chronic diseases, greater perceived stress was associated with worse episodic memory. This relationship was mediated by more depressive symptoms. Higher perceived control buffered the association between stress and depressive symptoms. There was no significant moderation by gender, race, or ethnicity. CONCLUSION Depressive symptoms may play a role in the negative association between perceived stress and cognition among older adults; however, longitudinal analyses and studies using experimental designs are needed. Perceived control is a modifiable psychological resource that may offset the negative impact of stress.
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Parisi JM, Sharifian N, Rebok GW, Aiken-Morgan AT, Gross AL, Zahodne LB. Subjective memory, objective memory, and race over a 10-year period: Findings from the ACTIVE study. Psychol Aging 2021; 36:572-583. [PMID: 34351184 DOI: 10.1037/pag0000622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The longitudinal associations between subjective and objective memory functioning in later life remain unclear. This may be due, in part, to sociodemographic differences across studies, given the hypothesis that these associations differ across racial groups. Using data from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE; N = 2,694; 26% African American), multiple-group, parallel-process latent growth curve models were used to explore relationships between subjective and objective memory over 10 years and assess racial differences in these associations. Across African Americans and whites, we found bidirectional associations between subjective and objective memory such that greater self-reported forgetting at baseline predicted faster subsequent verbal episodic memory declines, and higher baseline objective memory scores predicted less increase in self-reported forgetting over time. However, rates of change in self-reported frequency of forgetting were correlated with rates of change in verbal episodic memory in whites, but not in African Americans. Subjective memory complaints may be a harbinger of future memory declines across African Americans and whites but may not track with objective memory in the same way across these racial groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeanine M Parisi
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
| | | | - George W Rebok
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
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Han SD, Lamar M, Fleischman D, Kim N, Bennett DA, Lewis TT, Arfanakis K, Barnes LL. Self-reported experiences of discrimination in older black adults are associated with insula functional connectivity. Brain Imaging Behav 2021; 15:1718-1727. [PMID: 32720182 PMCID: PMC7854830 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-020-00365-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Self-reported experiences of discrimination are associated with a number of negative health outcomes. However, the neurobiological correlates of discrimination remain elusive. Recent neuroimaging work suggests that the amygdala is sensitive to forms of social adversity and the insula is involved in assessments of trust. We hypothesized that functional connectivity (FC) of these brain regions may be associated with discrimination in older Black adults. One-hundred and twenty-four nondemented older Black adults participating in the Minority Aging Research Study or the Clinical Core study of the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center completed a measure of self-reported experiences of discrimination and a 3T MRI brain scan including structural T1 and resting-state fMRI EPIBOLD sequences. The right and left amygdala and insula regions were anatomically delineated as ROIs according to the Harvard-Oxford Brain Atlas and whole-brain voxelwise FC analyses were conducted using default parameters in the CONN toolbox. In regression analyses controlling for demographics and global cognition, self-reported experiences of discrimination were associated with greater FC between the left insula and the bilateral intracalcarine cortex, weaker FC between the left insula and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and weaker FC between the right insula and the left supplementary motor area. Amygdala analyses yielded no significant findings. Greater self-reported experiences of discrimination are associated with differential insula functional connectivity in older adults. More specifically, results suggest that discrimination is associated with differential connectivity of a key region (the insula) involved in trust perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Duke Han
- Department of Family Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.
- School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.
| | - Melissa Lamar
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| | - Debra Fleischman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| | - Namhee Kim
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| | - David A Bennett
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| | - Tené T Lewis
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Konstantinos Arfanakis
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, 60616, USA
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| | - Lisa L Barnes
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
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Zahodne LB, Sharifian N, Kraal AZ, Zaheed AB, Sol K, Morris EP, Schupf N, Manly JJ, Brickman AM. Socioeconomic and psychosocial mechanisms underlying racial/ethnic disparities in cognition among older adults. Neuropsychology 2021; 35:265-275. [PMID: 33970660 DOI: 10.1037/neu0000720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective: Racial/ethnic disparities in cognitive aging are only partly attributable to socioeconomic indicators. Psychosocial factors, such as discrimination and perceived control, also differ across racial/ethnic groups, and emerging literature highlights their potential role in contributing to cognitive disparities in addition to socioeconomic status. Method: 1,463 older adults (51% Hispanic, 27% non-Hispanic Black, and 22% non-Hispanic White) in the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project completed cognitive and psychosocial measures, including a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, Everyday and Major Experiences of Lifetime Discrimination scales, and the Perceived Control scale. Mediation models quantified separate indirect effects of Black race and Hispanic ethnicity on global cognitive composite scores through education, income, discrimination, and external perceived control. Results: Educational attainment, income, and perceived control each mediated racial/ethnic disparities in global cognition. Socioeconomic indicators (i.e., lower education and lower income) explained approximately 50% of the Black-White and Hispanic-White disparities in global cognition, and more external perceived control explained an additional 5%-8%. Hispanics reported the lowest levels of discrimination, while non-Hispanic Blacks reported the highest levels. However, neither everyday nor major lifetime discrimination was associated with global cognition. Significant racial/ethnic disparities in global cognition remained after accounting for the included socioeconomic and psychosocial factors. Conclusions: This study suggests that psychosocial factors may explain racial/ethnic disparities in cognitive aging above and beyond socioeconomic indicators. More external perceived control, which could reflect chronic exposure to interpersonal and institutional marginalization, may be a particularly salient psychosocial risk factor for poorer cognitive aging among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic older adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Ketlyne Sol
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan
| | | | - Nicole Schupf
- Department of Neurology, Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Columbia University
| | - Jennifer J Manly
- Department of Neurology, Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Columbia University
| | - Adam M Brickman
- Department of Neurology, Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Columbia University
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Meza E, Peterson R, Gilsanz P, George KM, Miles SJ, Eng CW, Mungas DM, Mayeda ER, Glymour MM, Whitmer RA. Perceived Discrimination, Nativity, and Cognitive Performance in a Multi-ethnic Study of Older Adults: Findings from the Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences (KHANDLE) Study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2021; 77:e65-e73. [PMID: 34125189 PMCID: PMC8824601 DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glab170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite growing research on the association between discrimination and disparities in cognitive aging, an evidence gap remains on how the association varies by racial/ethnic group. This study evaluates the associations of experiences of discrimination with cognitive function and whether these associations varied by race/ethnicity and nativity. METHODS Using the Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences (KHANDLE) cohort (N=1,712) with approximately equal groups of Black, White, Latino, and Asian community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older, we evaluated the associations between self-reported experiences of everyday and major lifetime discrimination with overall cognitive performance and domain-specific cognition (verbal episodic memory, semantic memory and executive functioning) across race/ethnicity and nativity. Linear regression models examined the cross-sectional association between self-reported experiences of everyday and major lifetime discrimination with z-standardized coefficients for cognition. We tested for effect modification by race and nativity. All models controlled for age, sex and education. RESULTS Among KHANDLE participants (mean age: 76 years; standard deviation: 6.8), everyday discrimination was not associated with cognitive scores. Major lifetime discrimination was associated with better average cognitive scores among Black participants but not among other racial/ethnic groups. Major lifetime discrimination was associated with better average cognitive scores among US-born but not among non-US born individuals. CONCLUSION Our findings do not imply that discrimination improves cognition, but rather suggest that future research should include more detailed measures on discrimination and unfair treatment that could help disentangle the extent to which relationships are causal or reflect some other underlying factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Meza
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, CA
| | - Rachel Peterson
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
| | - Paola Gilsanz
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA
| | - Kristen M George
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
| | - Sunita J Miles
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA
| | - Chloe W Eng
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, CA.,Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA
| | - Dan M Mungas
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
| | - Elizabeth Rose Mayeda
- Department of Epidemiology, University of California, Los Angeles Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
| | - M Maria Glymour
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, CA
| | - Rachel A Whitmer
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA.,Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA
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Majoka MA, Schimming C. Effect of Social Determinants of Health on Cognition and Risk of Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias. Clin Ther 2021; 43:922-929. [PMID: 34103175 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2021.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, work, live, and age and the wider set of forces and systems that shape the conditions of daily life. They affect every area of life, particularly health and health care. There is increasing focus on modifiable factors that affect cognition and risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRDs). This article examines the impact of various social determinants of health, which are potentially reversible, on the incidence, prevalence, and risk of ADRDs and cognition. Various social determinants of health affect cognition and risk of ADRDs. Lower socioeconomic status (SES) and less education are associated with a higher incidence of ADRDs, whereas higher SES and education level appear to be protective, leading to a deceleration of time to diagnosis. In terms of employment, manual labor is associated with a higher risk of ADRDs. Higher body mass index in midlife and a decreasing body mass index in old age are associated with a higher risk of ADRDs. Furthermore, lower food security in early and late life is associated with a higher risk of ADRD diagnosis. Neighborhoods that are economically disadvantaged with fewer physical resources are associated with a higher risk of ADRDs. Higher levels of social engagement have a protective effect on diagnosis of ADRDs. Higher levels of stress are associated with a higher likelihood of developing ADRDs. Early-life adversity is associated with an increased risk of ADRDs, and further work in this area will be illuminating. Racial discrimination also leads to higher risk of ADRDs through the direct effect of discrimination and indirectly through lower SES, educational level, employment, and residential segregation. With an aim of reducing of ADRDs, future work in enhancing education, improving socioeconomic conditions, work, and neighborhood environments, and eliminating racial discrimination could potentially have a drastic impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muniza Anum Majoka
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
| | - Corbett Schimming
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York
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Hill-Jarrett TG, Jones MK. Gendered racism and subjective cognitive complaints among older black women: The role of depression and coping. Clin Neuropsychol 2021; 36:479-502. [PMID: 33998956 DOI: 10.1080/13854046.2021.1923804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Objective: Psychosocial stress is a risk factor for cognitive impairment and a potential pathway through which disparities in cognitive functioning emerge and disproportionately disadvantage older Black adults. Gendered racism is a psychosocial stressor that has negative implications for Black women's mental and physical health. This study tested the association between lifetime experiences of gendered racism and subjective cognitive complaints, taking into account the extent to which depressive symptoms and coping styles may explain this association. Method: Data from 75 older Black women (Mage = 62.43, SD = 6.23 years) were collected using an online survey assessing lifetime experiences of gendered racism, depressive symptoms, coping styles (i.e. spirituality, social support, problem-oriented/engagement, and disengagement), and subjective cognitive complaints (i.e. memory, attention, executive functioning, language, and overall cognition). The association between gendered racism and subjective cognitive complaints was examined with simple linear regression. Two mediation models examined depressive symptoms and coping styles as independent mediators of this association. Results: More gendered racism across the lifetime was associated with more subjective cognitive complaints separately through depressive symptoms and disengagement coping, but no other coping styles. Conclusion: Gendered racism is linked to increased subjective cognitive complaints via depressive symptoms and disengagement coping. The study highlights the importance of taking into account lived experiences (gendered racism) that are inextricably linked to social positioning (race and gender) within neuropsychology. Results evidence the negative impact of psychosocial stress, specifically gendered racism, on older Black women's subjective cognitive functioning, and illuminate avenues for clinical intervention and social justice advocacy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Martinque K Jones
- Department of Psychology, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA
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Caunca MR, Odden MC, Glymour MM, Elfassy T, Kershaw KN, Sidney S, Yaffe K, Launer L, Zeki Al Hazzouri A. Association of Racial Residential Segregation Throughout Young Adulthood and Cognitive Performance in Middle-aged Participants in the CARDIA Study. JAMA Neurol 2021; 77:1000-1007. [PMID: 32364578 DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.0860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Importance Neighborhood-level residential segregation is implicated as a determinant for poor health outcomes in black individuals, but it is unclear whether this association extends to cognitive aging, especially in midlife. Objective To examine the association between cumulative exposure to residential segregation during 25 years of young adulthood among black individuals and cognitive performance in midlife. Design, Setting, and Participants The ongoing prospective cohort Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study recruited 5115 black and white participants aged 18 to 30 years from 4 field centers at the University of Alabama, Birmingham; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois; and Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, California. Data were acquired from February 1985 to May 2011. Among the surviving CARDIA cohort, 3671 (71.8%) attended examination year 25 of the study in 2010, when cognition was measured, and 3008 (81.9%) of those completed the cognitive assessments. To account for time-varying confounding and differential censoring, marginal structural models using inverse probability weighting were applied. Data were analyzed from April 16 to July 20, 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures Racial residential segregation was measured using the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic, and the mean cumulative exposure to segregation was calculated across 6 follow-up visits from baseline to year 25 of the study, then categorized into high, medium, and low segregation. Cognitive function was measured at year 25 of the study, using the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), Stroop color test (reverse coded), and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. To facilitate comparison of estimates, z scores were calculated for all cognitive tests. Results A total of 1568 black participants with available cognition data were included in the analysis. At baseline, participants had a mean (SD) age of 25 (4) years and consisted of 936 women (59.7%). Greater cumulative exposure to segregated neighborhoods was associated with a worse DSST z score (for high segregation, β = -0.37 [95% CI, -0.61 to -0.13]; for medium segregation, β = -0.25 [95% CI, -0.51 to 0.0002]) relative to exposure to low segregation. Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study, exposure to residential segregation throughout young adulthood was associated with worse processing speed among black participants as early as in midlife. This association may potentially explain black-white disparities in dementia risk at older age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle R Caunca
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida.,Department of Neurology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida.,Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida.,Medical Scientist Training Program, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
| | - Michelle C Odden
- Department of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
| | - M Maria Glymour
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Tali Elfassy
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida.,Department of Neurology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
| | - Kiarri N Kershaw
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Preventative Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Stephen Sidney
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland
| | - Kristine Yaffe
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco.,Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco.,Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Lenore Launer
- Neuroepidemiology Section, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Adina Zeki Al Hazzouri
- Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York
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Power MC, Bennett EE, Turner RW, Dowling NM, Ciarleglio A, Glymour MM, Gianattasio KZ. Trends in Relative Incidence and Prevalence of Dementia Across Non-Hispanic Black and White Individuals in the United States, 2000-2016. JAMA Neurol 2021; 78:275-284. [PMID: 33252617 DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.4471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Importance In the US, dementia risk is higher in non-Hispanic Black individuals than in non-Hispanic White individuals. To evaluate progress toward reducing such disparities, tracking secular trends in racial disparities in dementia prevalence is essential. Objective To examine whether relative racial disparities in dementia prevalence or incidence have changed in the US from 2000 to 2016. Design, Settings, and Participants The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is a nationally representative study of adults 50 years or older. New participants are recruited every 6 years, and study visits occur biennially. Approximately 17 000 to 22 000 respondents have been surveyed at each wave since 2000, achieving response rates of 81% to 89%. Data for this cohort study were obtained from non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black participants aged 70 years and older from the 2000 to 2016 waves. For analyses of secular trends in racial disparities in dementia prevalence, each HRS wave was considered separately (range of participants meeting eligibility criteria in each wave, 6322-7579). For analyses of secular trends in racial disparities in dementia incidence, 7 subcohorts were created (range of participants meeting eligibility criteria in each subcohort, 5322-5961) following up people without dementia for 4 years from subcohort baseline visits in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012. Data were analyzed from October 2019 to August 2020. Exposures Race based on self-response to closed-ended survey questions. Main Outcomes and Measures Dementia status was determined using 3 algorithms with similar sensitivity and specificity across non-Hispanic White and Black participants. Disparities were characterized using ratio measures. Results In this study, the mean age and percentage of male participants eligible for inclusion in analyses of racial disparities in dementia prevalence increased over time among non-Hispanic White participants (from 78.2 years and 40% in 2000 to 78.7 years and 44% in 2016) but remained steady in non-Hispanic Black participants during the same period (from 78.0 years and 37% in 2000 to 77.9 years and 38% in 2016). Prevalence ratios comparing Black and White participants ranged from approximately 1.5 to 1.9 across algorithms and years, whereas hazard ratios ranged from approximately 1.4 to 1.8. Although results suggest stable or declining dementia risk overall, there was no evidence suggesting change in relative racial disparities in dementia prevalence or incidence during follow-up. Conclusions and Relevance This study did not find evidence to suggest that the ratio of dementia risk across Black and White individuals changed in the US between 2000 and 2016. Additional efforts to identify and mitigate the source of these disparities is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melinda C Power
- Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Erin E Bennett
- Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Robert W Turner
- Department of Clinical Research and Leadership, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - N Maritza Dowling
- Department of Acute and Chronic Care, School of Nursing, George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Adam Ciarleglio
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - M Maria Glymour
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Kan Z Gianattasio
- Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC
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Moored KD, Chan T, Varma VR, Chuang YF, Parisi JM, Carlson MC. Engagement in Enriching Early-Life Activities Is Associated With Larger Hippocampal and Amygdala Volumes in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2021; 75:1637-1647. [PMID: 30561728 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gby150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Numerous studies show benefits of mid- and late-life activity on neurocognitive health. Yet, few studies have examined how engagement in enriching activities during childhood, when the brain is most plastic, may confer long-term neurocognitive benefits that may be especially important to individuals raised in low-income settings. We examined associations between enriching early-life activities (EELAs) and hippocampal and amygdala volumes in a sample of predominantly African-American, community-dwelling older adults. We further assessed whether these associations were independent of current activity engagement. METHODS Ninety participants from the baseline Brain Health Substudy of the Baltimore Experience Corps Trial (mean age: 67.4) completed retrospective activity inventories and an magnetic resonance imaging scan. Volumes were segmented using FreeSurfer. RESULTS Each additional EELA was associated with a 2.3% (66.6 mm3) greater amygdala volume after adjusting for covariates. For men, each additional EELA was associated with a 4.1% (278.9 mm3) greater hippocampal volume. Associations were specific to these regions when compared with the thalamus, used as a control region. DISCUSSION Enriching lifestyle activities during an important window of childhood brain development may be a modifiable factor that impacts lifelong brain reserve, and results highlight the importance of providing access to such activities in historically underserved populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle D Moored
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.,Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Thomas Chan
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.,Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Vijay R Varma
- Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Unit, Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Yi-Fang Chuang
- Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Unit, Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Baltimore, Maryland.,Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jeanine M Parisi
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Michelle C Carlson
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.,Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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Peterson RL, Butler EA, Ehiri JE, Fain MJ, Carvajal SC. Mechanisms of Racial Disparities in Cognitive Aging: An Examination of Material and Psychosocial Well-Being. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2021; 76:574-582. [PMID: 31942631 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We tested the hypothesis that education's effect on cognitive aging operates in part through measures of material and psychosocial well-being. METHOD Our sample was of non-Latino black and white participants of the National Social Life Health and Aging Project who had valid cognitive assessments in Waves 2 and 3 (n = 2,951; age range: 48-95). We used structural equation modeling to test for mediation and moderated mediation by income, assets, perceived stress, social status, and allostatic load on the relationships between race, education, and cognition at two time points. RESULTS Education consistently mediated the race-cognition relationship, explaining about 20% of the relationship between race and cognition in all models. Income and assets were moderated by race; these factors were associated with cognition for whites but not blacks. Social status mediated the association between race and cognition, and social status and perceived stress mediated the education-cognition pathway. Allostatic load was not a mediator of any relationship. DISCUSSION Education remains the best explanatory factor for cognitive aging disparities, though material well-being and subjective social status help to explain a portion of the racial disparity in cognitive aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel L Peterson
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis
| | - Emily A Butler
- Department of Family Studies and Human Development, University of Arizona, Tucson
| | - John E Ehiri
- Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson
| | - Mindy J Fain
- University of Arizona Center on Aging; Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson
| | - Scott C Carvajal
- Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona; Arizona Prevention Research Center, Tucson
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Farfel JM, Barnes LL, Capuano A, de Moraes Sampaio MC, Wilson RS, Bennett DA. Informant-Reported Discrimination, Dementia, and Cognitive Impairment in Older Brazilians. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 84:973-981. [PMID: 33935076 PMCID: PMC9113828 DOI: 10.3233/jad-201436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Self-reported discrimination is a source of psychosocial stress that has been previously associated with poor cognitive function in older African Americans without dementia. OBJECTIVE Here, we examine the association of discrimination with dementia and cognitive impairment in racially diverse older Brazilians. METHODS We included 899 participants 65 years or older (34.3% Black) from the Pathology, Alzheimer's and Related Dementias Study (PARDoS), a community-based study of aging and dementia. A structured interview with informants of the deceased was conducted. The interview included the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Scale for the diagnosis of dementia and cognitive impairment proximate to death and the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) as a second measure of cognitive impairment. Informant-reported discrimination was assessed using modified items from the Major and Everyday Discrimination Scales. RESULTS Discrimination was reported by informants of 182 (20.2%) decedents and was more likely reported by informants of Blacks than Whites (25.3% versus 17.6%, p = 0.006). Using the CDR, a higher level of informant-reported discrimination was associated with higher odds of dementia (OR: 1.24, 95% CI 1.08 -1.42, p = 0.002) and cognitive impairment (OR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.06 -1.39, p = 0.004). Similar results were observed using the IQCODE (estimate: 0.07, SE: 0.02, p = 0.003). The effects were independent of race, sex, education, socioeconomic status, major depression, neuroticism, or comorbidities. CONCLUSION Higher level of informant-reported discrimination was associated with higher odds of dementia and cognitive impairment in racially diverse older Brazilians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose M. Farfel
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Pathology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Health Sciences Program, Instituto de Assistência Medica ao Servidor Público do Estado (IAMSPE), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Lisa L. Barnes
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Ana Capuano
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Health Sciences Program, Instituto de Assistência Medica ao Servidor Público do Estado (IAMSPE), São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Robert S. Wilson
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - David A. Bennett
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Health Sciences Program, Instituto de Assistência Medica ao Servidor Público do Estado (IAMSPE), São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL, USA
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Boltz M, BeLue R, Resnick B, Kuzmik A, Galik E, Jones JR, Arendacs R, Sinvani L, Mogle J, Galvin JE. Disparities in Physical and Psychological Symptoms in Hospitalized African American and White Persons with Dementia. J Aging Health 2020; 33:340-349. [PMID: 33371763 DOI: 10.1177/0898264320983210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Objectives: This study examined differences in physical function, delirium, depressive symptoms, and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in hospitalized African American and white older adults with dementia. Methods: This secondary data analysis using baseline data from an ongoing trial testing family-centered function-focused care included African American (n = 159) and white persons (n =135) with dementia. Results: A multivariate analysis of covariance showed that controlling for relevant demographic and health characteristics, African Americans with dementia had lower physical function, more delirium, and more depressive symptoms upon admission than white participants. There were no significant differences in BPSD between African American and white persons. Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine racial differences in admission symptoms of hospitalized persons with dementia. While the findings are preliminary, they can be used to inform the design of future research, including identifying the causes of disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Boltz
- College of Nursing, 311285The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | | | - Barbara Resnick
- School of Nursing, 12265University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ashley Kuzmik
- College of Nursing, 311285The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Elizabeth Galik
- School of Nursing, 12265University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Joanne R Jones
- College of Nursing, 311285The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Rachel Arendacs
- College of Nursing, 311285The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Liron Sinvani
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY, USA
| | - Jacqueline Mogle
- Center for Healthy Aging, 311285The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - James E Galvin
- Cognitive Disorder Division, 5452University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
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