Demographic predictors of cognitive performance in participants of a local substance abuse recovery program

Cognitive impairments have been reported among disadvantaged populations.

We aimed to ascertain how demographic factors are associated with cognitive performance in individuals enrolled in a local substance abuse recovery program.

In total, 106 participants were included in the study. Besides demographic information, vital signs and cognitive function, measured by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) or Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), were collected from each participant. Welch's t-test and regression analysis were used to analyze how different demographic factors are associated with cognitive assessment scores.

The mean age of African American (AA) participants (n = 43) were 48.35 ± 1.65 years, which are older than that for the White participants of 38.95 ± 1.36 (n = 63) years. Compared to the AA participants, the White participants had a larger variance in attained education levels. The average MMSE scores were 27.09 ± 0.40 for AA participants, which is lower than that for the White participants of 28.52 ± 0.33 (p < 0.05). The average MoCA scores were 23.71 ± 0.54 for AAs, which is lower that for the White participants of 26.65 ± 0.44 (p < 0.001). The AA and White participant groups had cognitive impairment rate of 18.6% and 6.35%, respectively. The regression analysis indicates age and education are two significant predictors for the cognitive performance difference between the two racial groups.

Significant disparities in cognitive performance exist between two racial groups of enrolled in a local substance abuse recovery program. The older age and lower levels of attained education in AA participants can explain the poorer cognitive function than the White participants.