Project Description:

This project investigates the relationship between social disconnection and changes in cognitive health over time among middle-aged and older Black adults. Specially, we examine whether people who are socially isolated or lonely experience more rapid declines in their cognitive health as they age. An additional aim of this project is to determine whether the qualities of a person’s neighborhood, such as the physical and social environments in the neighborhood, can modify how social isolation and loneliness affects changes in cognitive health over time.

The development of this project stemmed from our goal of identifying modifiable social factors that would contribute to health equity. The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias among Black older adults is 2-3 times greater than that of white older adults. A better understanding of modifiable risk factors for ADRD among Black adults is imperative for eliminating this racial disparity.

Potential Impact:

We expect the key findings to illuminate modifiable social determinants of cognitive impairment and dementia among Black Americans. We expect this project to have broad translational importance in the prevention of cognitive decline and elimination of the disparity in dementia between Black and White Americans.

Next Steps:

In addition to neighborhood stressors (e.g., neighborhood physical disadvantage) and neighborhood resources (e.g., neighborhood social cohesion), we are excited to explore other mechanisms through which neighborhoods influence health. Our next project will investigate whether neighborhood change processes (e.g., gentrification) and neighborhood racial segregation influence social connectedness and, subsequently, cognitive health. We will also examine whether age, gender, socioeconomic compositions of neighborhoods influence cognitive health.

The importance/value of RCCN funding for this collaborative research:

The pilot funding the RCCN provided has been instrumental in supporting and facilitating this project. The funding supported our effort on the project.