Neighborhood problems and sleep difficulties predict subjective cognitive decline in Black American men living in urban areas

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe impact of the residential neighborhood on health and aging is being increasingly recognized in medical and health sciences. Specifically, research suggests that the neighborhood where people live can be a risk or protective factor for various health outcomes, including brain health. Similar to the impact of neighborhood on health and aging, sleep has been linked to subjective cognitive decline (SCD) in older adults, which may signal a cognitive trajectory to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD). This study aims to evaluate whether neighborhood problems and sleep difficulties predict subjective cognitive decline in Black men living in urban areas and, thus, may be related to elevated risks for ADRD.MethodBlack American men (N = 117), age 40 – 70 years, were recruited through a targeted advert on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTURK) over a 3‐week period. The participants responded to a survey assessing neighborhood problems, bodily symptoms, length of residence, sleep difficulties, self‐rated health, sociodemographic characteristics, and subjective cognitive decline.ResultWe performed hierarchical regression. In Model 1, only education was a significant predictor of SCD (F (3,113) = 8.52, p<.001), accounting for 18% of the variation in SCD. In Model 2, socioeconomic status, education, and bodily symptoms were significant predictors of SCD (F (5,111) = 13.99, p<.001) and explained 39% of the variation in SCD. In Model 3, neighborhood problems, length of residence added, socioeconomic status, education, and bodily symptoms were significant predictors and contributed 44% of the total variance in SCD (F (7,109) = 12.10, p<.001). In Model 4, sleep difficulties, length of residence, bodily symptoms, socioeconomic status, and education were significant predictors of SCD (F (9,107) = 13.59, p<.001), and accounted for 50% of the variation in SCD.ConclusionGiven that Black Americans have been found to have a higher prevalence of sleep disturbances compared to white Americans, our findings could add to inform future health interventions and policy recommendations that can address modifiable sources of poorer brain health in Black men.