Public Health

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Neighborhood socioeconomic factors significantly influence cognitive health in aging populations.
• Existing research indicates disparities in cognitive health outcomes among racial groups.
• Psychological pathways linking neighborhood resources to cognition require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine psychological mechanisms mediating the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic factors and cognitive health in Black and White older adults.
• To investigate racial differences in the association between neighborhood characteristics and cognitive function.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Michigan Cognitive Aging Project (N=591) linked to National Neighborhood Data Archive census tract information.
• Assessed global cognition using a composite z-score from five neuropsychological domains.
• Employed simultaneous mediation models to analyze the roles of external perceived control and depressive symptoms.

Main Results:

• External perceived control, not depressive symptoms, mediated the negative association between neighborhood disadvantage and cognition.
• The link between neighborhood disadvantage and cognition was stronger among Black participants, independent of psychological mediators.
• Neighborhood affluence showed stronger associations with psychological mediators among White participants.

Conclusions:

• Psychosocial stress represents a potential pathway from neighborhood disadvantage to dementia risk.
• Further research is needed to identify modifiable pathways, especially for Black older adults facing greater neighborhood disadvantage.
• Investigating why neighborhood affluence benefits White older adults more than Black older adults may reveal impacts of discrimination and unequal resource access.