Built and Social Environment Resources are Associated with Memory Outcomes of Adults Enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study.

Abstract

Neighborhood socioeconomic status is linked to risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, but studies utilizing latent variable methods to clarify how built and social environment resources may relate to cognitive outcomes are limited. We applied exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to data from the 2010 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 17,642) to derive built and social environment resource factors and then examined associations with memory using structural equation modeling. Results revealed greater built and social environment resources were associated with better memory performance. Effects were modified by race/ethnicity such that environmental resource factors were more robustly associated with memory among non-Latino White compared to non-Latino Black and Latino participants. Results highlight that the presence of built and social environmental resources may support memory functioning, but disparities in the distribution of these resources must be addressed to ensure benefits are conferred equally across racial/ethnic groups.