Perceived Discrimination and Cognition in Older African Americans

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, 856-865)