Associations Between Neighborhood Park Access and Longitudinal Change in Cognition in Older Adults: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Preliminary evidence suggests associations between neighborhood park access and better late-life cognition and reduced Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk. OBJECTIVE: Examine associations between neighborhood park access and longitudinal change in cognition among U.S. older adults without dementia. METHODS: We used 2000-2018 observational data from the population-based, multi-site Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (n = 1,733). Measures included proportion of neighborhood park space (park access), distance to nearest park, and 6-year dichotomous and continuous change in scores on the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI; global cognition) and Digit Symbol Coding task (processing speed). Multivariable random intercept models tested main associations and mediation by depressive symptoms, physical activity, and PM2.5 exposure. Effect modification by race (African Americans/Blacks versus Whites) was tested using interaction terms. RESULTS: Greater park access (equivalent to 10%more in 1/2-mile around home) was associated with maintained/improved CASI score over six years independent of several covariates including individual- and neighborhood-level socioeconomic status (Odds ratio: 1.04; 95%confidence interval: 1.00-1.08). No other associations were observed with the dichotomous or continuous measures of cognitive change and no mediators were found. While a borderline association was seen between greater park access and maintained/improved CASI for African Americans/Blacks but not for Whites, effect modification was not confirmed by testing interaction terms. CONCLUSION: Neighborhood park access may help maintain/improve late-life global cognition. However, our findings need replication in other population-based studies and regions. Additionally, studies are needed to determine if associations between park access and change in cognition vary by race/ethnicity to inform intervention efforts.
Source: Journal of Alzheimer s Disease
DOI: 10.3233/jad-210370
Language: English
Topic: Urban Green Space and Health
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Awards: The Macrovascular and Microvascular Contributions to Alzheimer's Disease: MESA VASCAD, G1261793039, MESA, Reducing Disparities in Dementia and VCID Outcomes in a Multicultural Rural Population, G1269631540, G1276754516, G1294553593, G1409423729, G1412221515, G1539384734, G1640378483, G1686417863, G1803853571, The relationship between early signs of small vessel disease and diffuse white matter disease through imaging biomarkers among people with risk of cognitive decline., Wake Forest Clinical and Translational Science Award, Wake Forest Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, Characterizing health impacts of built environment features using complex data, G1947136479, G1983464145, G2095942735, G2144938473, G22458031, G2262782284, MESA, G2580996367, Changes in arterial stiffness, cognition and dementia risk in a diverse cohort, G2726417417, MESA, G2837638605, G2900228444, G290884426, G291913881, SUBCLINICAL CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE STUDY--EBCT READING, G3062349281, G3093995152, Atrial fibrillation burden, vascular disease of the brain and cardiac MRI in MESA, G3339598101, Communities Designed to Support Cardiovascular Health for Older Adults, G3570589137, G3595232572, G3623806501, G3647016462, G3676546685, G3687594596, G3701566170, MESA, Women's Health Initiative Sleep Hypoxia Effects on Resilience (WHISPER), G3990748671, G399481048, G4086764833, TITLE: MULTI-ETHNIC STUDY OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS (MESA), G4309390892, G4447421108, G4512137732, G4546180501, G4563812999, G4590187187, OPTION 3. 4/1/2014 - 3/31/2015. MULTI-ETHNIC STUDY OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS (MESA) - READING CENTER, NHLBI, G4914999650, MESA, G4986157935, Heart Rate Variability, Cognitive Performance, and Alzheimer Disease-related Pathology in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, SPRINT MIND 2020, G5075046117, G5088122703, G5108002584, G514410172, G5199179379, SUBCLINICAL CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE STUDY-ULTRASOUND, Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study in the Mind (COSMOS-Mind), Neighborhoods and Cardiovascular Risk in a Multiethnic Cohort, G5653954166, G5654179670, G5787256936, G5874174286, G5917635136, G6095866717, G6113126690, Long-term impact of random assignment to intensive lifestyle intervention on Alzheimers disease and related dementias: The Action for Health in Diabetes ADRD Study (Look AHEAD-MIND), G6359107525, Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, MESA, G6514094751, G66341962, G6730884202, G6742279884, G6776045476, G6798586005, G6856766826, G6860641960, Longitudinal associations between neighborhood greenspace and brain aging in cognitively normal older adults, G7003760051, Air pollution, the social environment, and Alzheimer's disease: Risk and resilience in the Ginkgo Evaluation Memory Study, G7055397874, G7166352866, The Role of Intracranial Atherosclerosis in the Development of Alzheimer's Disease, G7291742629, MESA, G7462069030, Multicultural Community Dementia Screening, G7606485069, G78770644, Clinical and Translational Science Award, G8145863542, G8204221449, G821275892, G842756795, G8585820175, G8756340485, G8761005068, G8823037953, G8852914737, G9000004549, G9000004784, G9000006353, G9000017360, G9000019818, G9000025517, G9000063950, G9000065698, Subclinical Vascular Contributions to Alzheimer's Disease: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Multisite Study of AD (Renewal), PRagmatic EValuation of evENTs And Benefits of Lipid-lowering in oldEr Adults (PREVENTABLE), ARIC Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS) Renewal 2023-2028, University of Washington Interdisciplinary Center for Exposures, Diseases, Genomics & Environment, G991334795
OpenAlex ID: W3161889287