RACIAL/ETHNIC DISPARITIES IN THE RISK OF DEMENTIA: THE ROLE OF STRESS EXPOSURE IN LATE LIFE

Abstract

Abstract The number of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias is expected to triple from 5 million to 13.7 million by 2050 in the US. Current studies suggest that older Black and Latinx adults experience poorer cognitive health; their dementia prevalence is 1.5 to 2 times higher than their white counterparts. Excessive stress exposure (e.g., traumatic experiences and discrimination) may serve as contributors to the cognitive health inequalities faced by racial/ethnic minorities. However, extant studies on cognitive health in diverse aging populations remained limited. In particular, little is known about how the level and effect of stress exposure account for cognitive health disparities across racial/ethnic groups. This study examines whether racial/ethnic differences in stress exposure (traumatic events, stressful life events, perceived everyday discrimination, lifetime discrimination, and financial strain) shape cognitive health disparities by race/ethnicity. Data from the 2006-2012 Health and Retirement Study are used to address the research question (N=9,251). Preliminary results based on ordinal logit regression models and moderation analyses suggest that all racial/ethnic minority older adults, especially Blacks, were more exposed to stressors and experienced poorer cognitive health than their White peers. However, even though some stressors are associated with adverse cognitive health, greater stress exposure among minority older adults explains little cognitive disparities faced by them. Moreover, the magnitude of the stressor effects on cognitive health is smaller for Blacks and Latinxs than for Whites. This study will discuss the implication of these unexpected findings and areas of promising future research.