Researchers have found that women living in neighborhoods surrounded by high poverty rates experience faster memory decline, particularly episodic memory, during midlife. The study of over 1,300 women from the United States tracked cognitive function and health outcomes over 13 years, revealing a significant association between neighborhood concentrated poverty and accelerated memory decline.
A new study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association has uncovered a link between exposure to high-poverty neighborhoods during midlife and faster declines in episodic memory. Episodic memory, which involves recalling specific events or pieces of information, often remains stable throughout life but can be an early warning sign of cognitive problems, including dementia.
The research team, led by Jinshil Hyun, followed women aged 49-60 from various cities across the United States for up to 13.5 years, assessing their memory and thinking abilities through repeated tests. They measured neighborhood poverty using U.S. Census data and categorized areas into low, moderate, or high concentration levels.
The study found that women living in high-poverty neighborhoods experienced a significant decline in episodic memory, with Black women showing the most pronounced effect – approximately 10% decline over a decade. In contrast, women from lower-income areas either showed little to no decline or mild reductions.
While processing speed and working memory were also affected by neighborhood poverty, their decline rates did not differ significantly across different types of neighborhoods. However, the researchers suggest that chronic stress, environmental toxins, and reduced access to stimulating environments may be contributing factors.
The findings have implications for addressing cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s disease risk in midlife. The study highlights the importance of considering neighborhood conditions when assessing health outcomes and emphasizes the need for targeted solutions that address community-level factors and personal-level strategies.
Future research will aim to identify specific neighborhood features influencing cognitive aging, using real-time location tracking and environmental data. By understanding how neighborhoods shape health over time, researchers hope to develop more effective prevention and intervention strategies for reducing cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease risk.
Source: https://www.psypost.org/surprisingly-strong-link-found-between-a-womans-address-and-her-memory-decline