Associations Among Natural Disaster Exposure, Childhood Adversity, and Cognitive Functioning in Older Americans in the Health and Retirement Study.

Abstract

Although adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to poorer later-life cognitive function, little is known about how natural disasters, which may be perceived as stressful or traumatic, influence this relationship. Using the Health and Retirement Study, we investigated whether disaster exposure moderates the ACE-cognition association in 12,951 adults aged 50+ years [M_age = 64.6, SD = 10.1]. Cognitive performance score (range: 0-27) was calculated from word recall, serial 7's, and backward counting. At least one ACE was experienced by 35.6% and a natural disaster by 15.4% of the sample. In weighted regression models, ACEs and the ACEs*Disaster interaction were associated with 0.15 and 0.29 points lower cognitive performance scores, respectively. Stratified models revealed stronger associations in women than men. These findings suggest that natural disaster exposure is a potential environmental stressor that can exacerbate the effects of ACEs on cognitive performance later in life, especially in women.