Does the Chronic Stress of Everyday Discrimination or Race Itself Better Predict AD Onset Risk?

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Sociology
• Public Health

Background:

• Everyday discrimination is a documented chronic strain for Black individuals, acting as a social determinant of illness.
• Limited research exists on the specific links between discrimination, race, and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) onset risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate racial disparities in Alzheimer's Disease onset risk.
• To examine the relationship between everyday discrimination, race, and AD onset risk using the Health and Retirement Study.
• To explore racial differences in exposure and vulnerability to everyday discrimination.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Cox Proportional Hazard Models to analyze data from the Health and Retirement Study.
• Examined racial differences in exposure to and vulnerability to everyday discrimination.
• Assessed the predictive relationship between everyday discrimination and AD onset risk across racial groups.

Main Results:

• Everyday discrimination was found to predict Alzheimer's Disease onset risk.
• Black individuals reported higher exposure to everyday discrimination as a chronic strain.
• Contrary to the stress process model, Black respondents did not exhibit greater vulnerability to the effects of discrimination on AD onset risk.

Conclusions:

• Discrimination is a significant factor in predicting Alzheimer's Disease risk.
• Racial bias in medical diagnosis and mortality selection bias may influence observed effects.
• Findings highlight the need to address systemic biases in healthcare and consider their impact on AD diagnosis and outcomes in minority populations.