Scholarly Work - Human Development & Community Health
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/18417
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Item Marital status, brain health, and cognitive reserve among diverse older adults(Cambridge University Press, 2024-11) Lee, Ji Hyun; Scambray, Kiana A.; Morris, Emily P.; Sol, Ketlyne; Palms, Jordan D.; Zaheed, Afsara B.; Martinez, Michelle N.; Schupf, Nicole; Manly, Jennifer J.; Brickman, Adam M.Objective: Being married may protect late-life cognition. Less is known about living arrangement among unmarried adults and mechanisms such as brain health (BH) and cognitive reserve (CR) across race and ethnicity or sex/gender. The current study examines (1) associations between marital status, BH, and CR among diverse older adults and (2) whether one’s living arrangement is linked to BH and CR among unmarried adults. Method: Cross-sectional data come from the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (N = 778, 41% Hispanic, 33% non-Hispanic Black, 25% non-Hispanic White; 64% women). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers of BH included cortical thickness in Alzheimer’s disease signature regions and hippocampal, gray matter, and white matter hyperintensity volumes. CR was residual variance in an episodic memory composite after partialing out MRI markers. Exploratory analyses stratified by race and ethnicity and sex/gender and included potential mediators. Results: Marital status was associated with CR, but not BH. Compared to married individuals, those who were previously married (i.e., divorced, widowed, and separated) had lower CR than their married counterparts in the full sample, among White and Hispanic subgroups, and among women. Never married women also had lower CR than married women. These findings were independent of age, education, physical health, and household income. Among never married individuals, living with others was negatively linked to BH. Conclusions: Marriage may protect late-life cognition via CR. Findings also highlight differential effects across race and ethnicity and sex/gender. Marital status could be considered when assessing the risk of cognitive impairment during routine screenings.Item Neighborhood racial income inequality and cognitive health(Wiley, 2024-06) Zahodne, Laura B.; Sol, Ketlyne; Scambray, Kiana; Lee, Ji Hyun; Palms, Jordan D.; Morris, Emily P.; Taylor, Lauren; Ku, Vivian; Lesniak, Mary; Melendez, Robert; Elliot, Michael R.; Clarke, Phillippa J.INTRODUCTION. Neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) has been linked to dementia, but the distribution of SES within a neighborhood may also matter. METHODS. Data from 460 (47% Black, 46% White) older adults from the Michigan Cognitive Aging Project were linked to census tract–level data from the National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA). Neighborhood SES included two composites reflecting disadvantage and affluence. Neighborhood racial income inequality was the ratio of median incomes for White versus Black residents. Generalized estimating equations examined associations between neighborhood factors and cognitive domains. RESULTS. Neighborhood racial income inequality was uniquely associated with worse cognitive health, and these associations did not differ by participant race. Neighborhood disadvantage was only associated with worse cognitive health among Black participants. DISCUSSION. Both the level and racial distribution of SES within a neighborhood may be relevant for dementia risk. Racial differences in the level and impact of neighborhood SES contribute to dementia inequalities.