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Evaluating segregated school attendance as a mediator of geographic inequities in late‐life cognitive function: evidence from the Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR)

Guardado en:
Publicado en:Alzheimer's & Dementia vol. 22, no. 1 (Jan 1, 2026)
Autor principal: Gutierrez, Sirena
Otros Autores: Whitmer, Rachel A., George, Kristen M., Peterson, Rachel L., Thomas, Marilyn D., Lor, Yi, Allen, Isabel E., Barnes, Lisa L., Glymour, M. Maria, Torres, Jacqueline M., Gilsanz, Paola
Publicado:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Materias:
United States > US
Cognitive functioning
Health disparities
Episodic memory
Aging
Semantic memory
Segregation
Function
School attendance
Schools
Brain
Cognition
Verbal memory
Geography
African Americans
Racial differences
Cognition & reasoning
Life
Inequality
Executive function
Black people
Adults
Brain health
Memory
Acceso en línea:Citation/Abstract
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Resumen:INTRODUCTION Birth in the Southern United States is associated with poorer late‐life cognitive health, especially among Black Americans, yet the role of school segregation is unclear. METHODS Utilizing decomposition methods, we estimated the total effect, natural direct effect (NDE), and natural indirect effect (NIE) of Southern birth on domain‐specific cognition among 727 older Black adults, adjusting for early‐life covariates. We also estimated the proportion of the total effect mediated by self‐reported segregated school attendance. RESULTS Southern birth was associated with lower late‐life executive function and semantic memory; estimates were negative but not significant for verbal episodic memory. The direct effect of Southern birth was negative but not significant for all domains. Attending a segregated school mediated 35% and 49% of the total association between Southern birth and executive function (NIE: −0.07, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [−0.18, 0.02]) and semantic memory (NIE:−0.17, 95% CI: [−0.29, −0.06]). DISCUSSION School segregation may partially drive geographic inequities in late‐life cognition in the United States. Highlights Southern birth has been linked to poorer cognitive health in later life. Segregated schooling may partially explain geographic disparities in brain aging. Black adults born in the South had lower cognitive function and were more likely to attend segregated schools. Segregated schooling accounted for 35% to 49% of the association between Southern birth and cognition.
ISSN:1552-5260
1552-5279
DOI:10.1002/alz.71036
Fuente:Consumer Health Database