Year: 2019
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Overall health is significantly impacted by where one lives. Although neighborhood disadvantage has been shown to affect risk of disease and other chronic disorders, little evidence exists to demonstrate an association between neighborhood disadvantage and cognitive impairment in older adults. This study will discuss implications of using the Area Development Index (ADI) to examine the relationship between cognitive status and cognitive test performance in African-Americans. It is hypothesized that an increased ADI score, indicating a less desirable or supportive area, would yield lower cognitive function. A sample of 100 self-identified African Americans study participants from an Alzheimer's disease center in the southeastern USA. Rankings of neighborhoods by socioeconomic status disadvantage (Area Deprivation Index; ADI) scores, along with a variety of cognitive testing results. Tests were selected from the Uniform Data Set (UDS) from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center. Partial correlation analyses were used to control for age, sex, and education. Of the sample, the majority of respondents were female (78%), with a mean age of 77.54, and an average education level of 14 years. 55% of participants were cognitively normal, 23% had mild cognitive impairment, and 18% had a diagnosis with dementia. The average ADI score was 5. Results showed a trend that, compared to other groups, demented participants tended to have a higher ADI (p = 0.1762). The relationship between cognitive test scores and ADI was not statistically significant, except for Digit Span Forward (p = 0.009). While it is known that socioeconomic factors can have an influence on overall health, the results indicate differently for cognitive status. Those with dementia tended to have a poorer ADI score, indicating that a less desirable or supportive living area be related to diagnosis. However, Digit Span Forward was the only cognitive measure that was significant, potentially showing that attention could be influenced by the environment in which a person lives. Future studies could benefit from examining neighborhood disadvantage from multiple points in the lifespan, as well as exploring the relationship between ADI, cognition, and diagnosis.
Source: Alzheimer s & Dementia
Institution: University of Kentucky
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2980659168