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Perceived Discrimination and Cognition in Older African Americans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2012

L.L. Barnes*
Affiliation:
Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago Illinois Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago Illinois Department of Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago Illinois
T.T. Lewis
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
C.T. Begeny
Affiliation:
Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago Illinois
L. Yu
Affiliation:
Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago Illinois Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago Illinois
D.A. Bennett
Affiliation:
Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago Illinois Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago Illinois
R.S. Wilson
Affiliation:
Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago Illinois Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago Illinois Department of Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago Illinois
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Lisa L Barnes, Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Armour Academic Center, 600 S. Paulina, Suite 1038, Chicago, IL 60612. E-mail: lbarnes1@rush.edu

Abstract

Existing evidence suggests that psychosocial stress is associated with cognitive impairment in older adults. Perceived discrimination is a persistent stressor in African Americans that has been associated with several adverse mental and physical health outcomes. To our knowledge, the association of discrimination with cognition in older African Americans has not been examined. In a cohort of 407 older African Americans without dementia (mean age = 72.9; SD = 6.4), we found that a higher level of perceived discrimination was related to poorer cognitive test performance, particularly episodic memory (estimate = −0.03; SE = .013; p < .05) and perceptual speed tests (estimate = −0.04; SE = .015; p < .05). The associations were unchanged after adjusting for demographics and vascular risk factors, but were attenuated after adjustment for depressive symptoms (Episodic memory estimate = −0.02; SE = 0.01; Perceptual speed estimate = −0.03; SE = 0.02; both p's = .06). The association between discrimination and several cognitive domains was modified by level of neuroticism. The results suggest that perceived discrimination may be associated with poorer cognitive function, but does not appear to be independent of depressive symptoms. (JINS, 2012, 18, 1–10)

Type
Research Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2012

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