Public Health.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Urban Health

Background:

• Positive neighborhood perceptions are linked to reduced cardiovascular risk and slower cognitive decline.
• Psychosocial resources in neighborhoods may influence cognitive health across the lifespan.
• Older women at higher dementia risk might benefit more from neighborhood psychosocial resources than men.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of neighborhood perceptions on cognitive function across the full spectrum of cognition.
• To investigate if psychosocial neighborhood resources differentially benefit men and women, particularly those at elevated dementia risk.
• To examine the association between neighborhood conditions and cognitive decline over time.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 12,341 participants (aged 52-104) in the Health and Retirement Study.
• Assessed cognitive function via averaged 10-word immediate and delayed recall scores, collected biennially.
• Employed linear quantile and mixed-effects models to analyze associations between neighborhood social cohesion, physical disorder, social ties, and cognitive change, examining heterogeneity by sex/gender and age.

Main Results:

• Comparable baseline word recall scores were observed between men and women.
• Positive neighborhood perceptions were associated with better baseline cognition at lower dementia risk quantiles.
• After age 70, higher neighborhood cohesion, more social ties, and lower disorder correlated with slower cognitive decline. Women at lower dementia risk showed steeper cognitive decline with fewer social ties post-70, unlike men.

Conclusions:

• Perceived neighborhood environment quality may mitigate cognitive decline in older adults vulnerable to dementia.
• Further research is needed to explore gender-specific social ties and mechanisms linking neighborhood context to dementia risk, particularly in women.
• Findings highlight the potential of neighborhood-level interventions to support cognitive aging.