Notice: eScholarship will undergo scheduled maintenance from Tuesday, January 21 to Wednesday, January 22. Some functionality may not be available during this time. Learn more at eScholarship Support.
Few longitudinal studies have examined the joint impact of neighborhood segregation and neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES) in cognitive decline over time.
Methods
This study included non-Hispanic White (NHW, n = 209) and Black participants (n = 118) whose cognition was evaluated as part of an ongoing longitudinal study. Four distinct categories of segregation and NSES were evaluated for their association with cognitive outcomes (episodic memory, semantic memory, executive function, and spatial ability) using race-specific mixed-effects models.
Results
Compared to Black participants living in higher segregation-lower NSES areas, Black participants living in lower segregation-lower NSES areas or higher segregation-higher NSES areas experienced slower decline in episodic memory over time. Compared to NHW participants living in higher segregation-lower NSES areas, NHWs living in lower segregation-higher NSES areas experienced faster decline in spatial ability.
Discussion
Segregation and NSES are differentially associated with cognition depending on participant race. Further research is needed to replicate study results.
