Living in Historically Redlined Neighborhoods and the Cognitive Function of Black and White Adults
Calley E. Fisk, Jennifer A. Ailshire, Katrina M. WalsemannObjectives
We determined if living in historically redlined neighborhoods was associated with level and change in cognitive functioning and if this association differed for Black and White older adults.
Methods
We linked the Health and Retirement Study 1998–2018 data to redlining scores from the Historic Redlining Indicator data. Our sample included adults aged 50 years and older (24,230 respondents, 129,618 person-period observations). Using three-level linear mixed models, we estimated the relationship between living in historically redlined neighborhoods on level and change in cognitive functioning for pooled and race-stratified samples.
Results
Residents of historically redlined “Declining” and “Hazardous” neighborhoods had lower cognitive functioning scores compared to residents of “Best/Desirable” neighborhoods. Among Black adults, living in “Hazardous” neighborhoods was associated with slower declines in cognitive functioning compared to living in “Best/Desirable” neighborhoods.
Discussion
Historical redlining is associated with older adults’ cognitive functioning, underscoring the importance of sociohistorical context for the neighborhood–cognition relationship.