Living in Historically Redlined Neighborhoods and Biological Aging among Older Adults

Abstract

Living in historically redlined neighborhoods has deleterious effects on aging-related health outcomes, yet little is known about how historical redlining affects the physiological aging process and the role of current neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) on this relationship. This study determined if living in historically redlined neighborhoods was associated with biological age and if this association was mediated by neighborhood-level socioeconomic status. We linked the Health and Retirement Study 2016 Venous Blood Study (HRS-VBS) to redlining scores from the Historic Redlining Indicator data and census tract level data from the 2014-2018 American Community Survey 5-year estimates (N = 6,466 respondents). Multivariable linear regression models were used to assess differences in biological age among older residents of historically redlined neighborhoods graded “Best/Desirable”, “Declining”, and “Hazardous”. Mediation analyses using the khb method were used to assess whether measures of neighborhood affluence and disadvantage explained differences in biological age by historical redlining grade. Older residents of “Declining” or “Hazardous” neighborhoods were about 2.5 and 1.7 years older biologically than residents of “Best/Desirable” neighborhoods. Neighborhood SES mediated this relationship, with affluence explaining approximately 20% and disadvantage explaining about 8% (“Declining”) and 25% (“Hazardous”) of the association between historical redlining and biological age. Our study highlights the importance of evaluating measures of physiological functioning and current neighborhood conditions to clarify existing health disparities among residents of historically redlined neighborhoods.