Relationship quality moderates the association between neighborhood disadvantage and cognition among Mexican American older adults.

OBJECTIVES

Neighborhood disadvantage is associated with worse cognition. Historically marginalized groups, including Hispanic individuals, are more likely to live in more disadvantaged neighborhoods. This study investigated whether a modifiable factor, social relationships, moderated the association between neighborhood disadvantage and cognition, and whether these associations differed by gender.

METHODS

This study included 1,951 Mexican American adults (Mage = 81.9; 62% women) from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly (H-EPESE). Participants were linked to a composite measure of neighborhood disadvantage, the predictor, at the census tract level drawn from the National Neighborhood Data Archive. The Mini-Mental State Examination, measuring global cognition, was the outcome. Social network size, a moderator, includes the total number of children, relatives, and friends spoken to in the last month. Relationship quality, a moderator, was defined by how frequently the individual can count on and discuss deep problems with friends/family. Multiple linear regressions with interaction terms were conducted to assess for moderation, which were repeated across the gender-stratified samples.

RESULTS

Relationship quality, but not social network size, moderated the association between neighborhood disadvantage and cognition. The negative effect of living in the most disadvantaged neighborhood on cognition was observed among those reporting medium relationship quality (B = -2.94, p <.05) and appeared to be driven by women (B = -5.49, p = .02).

DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that interventions to improve cognition among Mexican American older adults in disadvantaged neighborhoods should consider relationship quality and gender in health promotion efforts.