STRUCTURAL DISCRIMINATORY FACTORS RELATED TO COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING AMONG OLDER HISPANICS: RESULTS FROM HRS

Abstract

Abstract A growing body of research reveals how interpersonal and structural discriminatory factors undermine cognitive functioning among older Black and White adults, yet few studies have focused on older Hispanics in the United States. We examined cognitive health trajectories among 1,513 Hispanic men and women in the Health and Retirement Study (2008-2020) with mixed-effects regression. The majority (71%) of older Hispanics reported less than a college education. This older Hispanic sample often attributed everyday and major discrimination to nativity, race, age, and gender. In multivariate analyses, education, marital status, total household assets, mental health (depression), physical activity (regular vigorous exercise), and multi-morbidity (a weighted index) were all associated with cognitive functioning and in the expected directions. Surprisingly, cognitive functioning did not vary by gender. Living in neighborhoods characterized by physical disorder and social cohesion by respondents, were associated with cognitive functioning at the bivariate level, but only neighborhood physical disorder held association at the multivariate level. Perceived everyday and major discriminatory experiences were not associated with total cognition at the bivariate or multi-variate levels. Results from this study suggest interventions that target access to higher education, as well as chronic health conditions and neighborhood factors, can optimize cognitive functioning. Stratified analyses and interaction effects are needed to tease out the diversity of older Hispanic adults by nativity, acculturation, interpersonal discrimination, and cognitive health.