Neighborhood Social and Physical Environment and Cognitive Function Among Brazilian Adults Aged 50

Positive perceptions of the neighborhood environment are associated with better cognitive functioning in older adulthood. However, little is known about the significance of neighborhoods for cognitive function in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where this association may be augmented by limited resources and higher economic inequality. This study examined the association between neighborhood characteristics and cognitive functioning among Brazilians aged 50+.

Using data from the 2016 Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil; n = 7,699), we fit a series of linear regression models to examine how self-reported social and physical neighborhood characteristics were associated with global cognition, immediate and delayed recall, and verbal fluency.

Perceiving one's neighborhood as a good place to live predicted better global cognition and verbal fluency. Greater perceived availability of healthy foods within one's neighborhood was linked to better cognitive functioning on all tasks, although this was no longer significant after adjusting for education. Appraising one's neighborhood as a good place for youth was associated with worse cognitive functioning on all tasks.

We found associations across certain neighborhood characteristics and cognitive functioning in a nationally representative sample of Brazilian adults, suggesting neighborhood context may be tied to cognitive function in LMICs. Unexpectedly, rating one's neighborhood as good for youth predicted worse cognition, possibly due to neighborhood age structure. Further research is needed to clarify these effects in the Brazilian context and understand how and why these associations affect later life cognitive functioning.