Work

The Social Vulnerability Index and Incidence of Alzheimer Disease in a Population-Based Sample of Older Adults

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The primary study objective was to examine the association between Social Vulnerability index (SVI) and risk of incident Alzheimer disease (AD) and rate of cognitive decline. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of data from the Chicago Health and Aging Project, a population-based cohort study. Participants were recruited through door visits, were at least 65 years of age at enrollment, and lived in one of 4 Chicago communities representing 24 US census tracts. The association of SVI with clinically diagnosed incident AD was examined using a logistic regression model and global cognitive decline using a linear mixed-effects model. RESULTS: = 0.005) in participants above the 75th percentile than in participants below the 25th SVI percentile. DISCUSSION: Most Black participants who lived in areas with higher SVI that had over twice the risk of incident AD than most White participants who lived in areas with lower SVI, showing a higher social burden in Black older adults. There was no statistically significant race difference in incident AD after adjusting for SVI. SVI should be accounted for when examining race differences in AD.

Source: Neurology

DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000213464