Early-life socioeconomic status (SES) and adversity are associated with late-life cognition and risk of dementia. We examined the association between early-life SES and adversity and late-life cross-sectional cognitive outcomes as well as global cognitive decline, hypothesizing that adulthood SES would mediate these associations.

Our sample (N = 837) was a racially and ethnically diverse cohort of non-Hispanic/Latino White (48%), Black (27%), and Hispanic/Latino (19%) participants from Northern California. Participant addresses were geocoded to the level of the census tract, and US Census Tract 2010 variables (e.g., percent with high school diploma) were extracted and combined to create a neighborhood SES composite. We used multilevel latent variable models to estimate early-life (e.g., parental education, whether participant ever went hungry) and adult (participant’s education, main occupation) SES factors and their associations with cross-sectional and longitudinal cognitive outcomes of episodic memory, semantic memory, executive function, and spatial ability.

Child and adult factors were strongly related to domain-specific cognitive intercepts (0.20–0.48 SD per SD of SES factor); in contrast, SES factors were not related to global cognitive change (0.001–0.01 SD per year per SD of SES factor). Adulthood SES mediated a large percentage (68–75%) of the total early-life effect on cognition.

Early-life sociocontextual factors are more strongly associated with cross-sectional late-life cognitive performance compared to cognitive change; this effect is largely mediated through associations with adulthood SES.

This study evaluated: (1) apolipoprotein E (APOE) ϵ4 prevalence among Black, Latino, and White older adults, (2) associations of APOE ϵ4 status with baseline level and change over time of cognitive outcomes across groups, and (3) combined impact of APOE ϵ4 prevalence and magnitude of effect on cognitive decline within each racial/ethnic group.

Participants included 297 White, 138 Latino, and 149 Black individuals from the longitudinal UC Davis Diversity Cohort who had APOE genotyping and ≥2 cognitive assessments. Magnitude of associations of ϵ4 with cognitive baseline and change across racial/ethnic groups was tested with multilevel parallel process longitudinal analyses and multiple group models.

ϵ4 prevalence in Black (46%) and White participants (46%) was almost double that of Latino participants (24%). ϵ4 was associated with poorer baseline episodic memory only in White participants (p = .001), but had a moderately strong association with episodic memory change across all racial/ethnic groups (Blacks= −.061 SD/year, Latinos = −.055,Whites= −.055). ϵ4 association with semantic memory change was strongest in White participants (−.071), intermediate in Latino participants (−.041), and weakest in Black participants (−.022).

Calculated cognitive trajectories across racial/ethnic groups were influenced in an additive manner by ϵ4 prevalence and strength of association with cognitive decline within the group. Group differences in ϵ4 prevalences and associations of ϵ4 with cognition may suggest different pathways from APOE to cognitive decline, and, AD possibly having less salient impact on cognitive decline in non-White participants. Differential effects of APOE on episodic memory and non-memory cognition have important implications for understanding how APOE influences late life cognitive decline.

We examined the association of generational status and age at immigration with later life cognitive outcomes in a diverse sample of Latinos and Asian Americans.

Baseline data were obtained from the Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences (KHANDLE) study, and a prospective cohort is initiated in 2017.

Older adults in Northern California.

Our cohort consisted of Asians (n = 411) and Latinos (n = 340) who were on average 76 years old (SD = 6.8).

We used multivariable linear regression models to estimate associations between generational status and age at immigration (collapsed into one five-level variable) with measures of verbal episodic memory, semantic memory, and executive function, adjusting for age, gender, race and ethnicity, and own- and parental education.

Generational status and age at immigration were associated with cognitive outcomes in a graded manner. Compared to third-generation or higher immigrants, first-generation immigration in adulthood was associated with lower semantic memory (β = −0.96; 95% CI: −1.12, −0.81) than immigration in adolescence (β = −0.68; 95% CI: −0.96, −0.41) or childhood (β = −0.28; 95% CI: −0.49, −0.06). Moreover, immigration in adulthood was associated with lower executive function (β = −0.63; 95% CI: −0.78, −0.48) than immigration in adolescence (β = −0.49; 95% CI: −0.75, −0.23). Similarly, compared to third-generation individuals, first-generation immigrants had lower executive functioning scores.

Our study supports the notion that sociocontextual influences in early life impact later life cognitive scores. Longitudinal studies are needed to further clarify how immigration characteristics affect cognitive decline.

The Everyday Cognition (ECog) scales measure cognitively based across domains of everyday abilities that are affected early in the course of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. However, the degree to which the ECog may be differentially influenced by ethnic/racial background is unknown. This study evaluates measurement invariance of the ECog across non-Hispanic White (NHW), Black, and Hispanic individuals.

Participants included 1177 NHW, 243 Black, and 216 Hispanic older adults from the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center Cohort who had an ECog. Differential item functioning (DIF) for each ECog domain was evaluated separately for Black and Hispanic participants compared to NHW participants. An iterative multiple group confirmatory factor analysis approach for ordinal scores was used to identify items whose measurement properties differed across groups and to adjust scores for DIF. Adjusted scores were then evaluated to test whether they were more strongly associated with cognitive function (concurrent and longitudinal change in cognition) and brain volumes (measured by brain imaging).

Varying levels, patterns, and impacts of DIF were found across domains and groups. However, the impact of DIF was relatively small, and DIF effects on scores generally were less than one-half standard error of measurement. There were no meaningful differences in associations with cognition and brain injury between DIF adjusted and unadjusted scores.

Varying patterns of DIF were observed across the Black and Hispanic participants across select ECog domains. Overall, DIF effects were relatively small and did not change the relationship between the ECog and other indicators of disease.