ArticleJournal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD2020
Stressful Life Events and Racial Disparities in Cognition Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults.
Article in Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 80 papers.
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Who cites it
80 citing papers in PubMed.
- Association of psychosocial stress with altered functional connectivity of large-scale brain networks in aging adults.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2026Article
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Health-Related Social Needs, and Cognitive Outcomes in US Veterans.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Exploring Social Determinants of Cognitive Functioning: History of Criminal Legal System Involvement and Processing Speed among Older Black Americans.Sociological focus · 2026Article
- Salivary Cortisol and Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer Disease in Older Adults.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Linking perceived stress and cognitive aging: The influence of blood pressure in Black Americans.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026Article
- Telomere Length and Cognitive Function Among Middle-Aged and Older Participants From Communities Underrepresented in Aging Research: A Preliminary Study.Journal of aging and health · 2026Article
- Resilience Shields and Grit Intensifies Subjective Cognitive Decline in Middle-To-Older Aged Black Americans.International journal of geriatric psychiatry · 2026Article
- The role of stress, perceived discrimination, and skin tone on cognitive performance in Puerto Rican adults.Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology · 2026Article
- Perceived Racial Stress Effects on Neuropsychological Functioning in African Americans are Mediated by the Brain's Reward/Safety SEEKING Systems via Neuroimmune and Neuroendocrine Pathways.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Is the 10-Year Trajectory of Physical Activity Associated With the Incidence of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults?Psychogeriatrics : the official journal of the Japanese Psychogeriatric Society · 2026Article
- The relationships between ethnoracial identity, Aβ positivity, APOEε4, and medial temporal lobe tau PET.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Racial Trauma and Black Mothers' Mental Health: Does Cognitive Flexibility Buffer the Effects of Racialized Stress?Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Recognizing Structural and Social Determinants of Health in the Diagnosis and Care of Dementia.Dementia (London, England) · 2026Article
- Implementing brain health strategies in primary care: methods and baseline findings from the BHAM registry.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Predictors of transitions between normal cognition, cognitive impairment, and dementia in a longitudinal cohort.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2025Article
- Ethnic Disparities in Physical, Mental, and Cognitive Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Snapshot of Metro-Detroit.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2025Article
- Factors associated with age at tau pathology onset and time from tau onset to dementia in Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Article
- Impact of triglyceride glucose-weight adjusted waist index and its cumulative exposure on stroke risk: a nationwide prospective cohort study.Lipids in health and disease · 2025Article
- Grief and Economic Stressors by Sex, Gender, and Education: Associations With Alzheimer Disease-Related Outcomes.Neurology · 2025Article
- Psychological Resilience and Cognitive Functioning in Black and White Men and Women.The Gerontologist · 2025Article
20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIt is well-documented that African Americans have elevated risk for cognitive impairment and dementia in late life, but reasons for the racial disparities remain unknown. Stress processes have been linked to premature age-related morbidity, including Alzheimer's and related dementias (ADRD), and plausibly contribute to social disparities in cognitive aging.
objectiveWe examined the relationship between stressful life events and cognitive decline among African American and White participants enrolled in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention (WRAP).
methodsLinear mixed models including demographic, literacy, and health-related covariates were used to estimate (1) relationships between a life event index score and decline in cognitive test performance in two domains of executive function (Speed & Flexibility, Working Memory) and one domain of episodic memory (Verbal Learning & Memory) among 1,241 WRAP enrollees, stratified by race, and (2) contributions of stressful life events to racial differences in cognition within the full sample.
resultsAfrican Americans (N = 50) reported more stressful life events than Whites (N = 1,191). Higher stress scores associated with poorer Speed & Flexibility performance in both groups, though not with declines across time, and partially explained racial differentials in this domain. Among African Americans only, stressor exposure also associated with age-related decline in Verbal Learning & Memory. Stressor-cognition relationships were independent of literacy and health-related variables.
conclusionsGreater lifetime stress predicted poorer later-life cognition, and, in a small sample of African Americans, faster declines in a key domain of episodic memory. These preliminary findings suggest that future work in large minority aging cohorts should explore stress as an important source of modifiable, socially-rooted risk for impairment and ADRD in African Americans, who are disproportionately exposed to adverse experiences across the life course.
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