TY - JOUR T1 - Effects of Stress Exposure Versus Appraisal on Episodic Memory Trajectories: Evidence for Risk and Resilience among Black Older Adults. JF - The Journals of Gerontology, Series B Y1 - 2022 A1 - Morris, Emily P A1 - Lauren L Brown A1 - Afsara B. Zaheed A1 - Palms, Jordan D A1 - Sol, Ketlyne A1 - Martino, Alexa A1 - Laura B Zahodne KW - Black/African American KW - Episodic Memory KW - Racial differences KW - stress appraisa AB -

OBJECTIVES: Chronic stressors, experienced disproportionately by Black older adults, are a risk factor for memory impairment. Racially patterned stress exposure may contribute to higher rates of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) among Black older adults compared with Whites, but less is known about the role of stress appraisal. This study examined whether chronic stress exposure mediates racial disparities in memory and whether stress appraisal moderates these associations.

METHODS: Participants included 16,924 older adults (Mage= 67.39, 21% Black) from the 2010 and 2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study who completed measures of chronic stress exposure (health, financial, housing, relationships, and caregiving) and appraisal. Latent growth curves modeled longitudinal performance on a word list memory task over six years.

RESULTS: Black older adults reported greater stress exposure than Whites, and greater stress exposure partially mediated Black-White disparities in initial memory (standardized indirect effect=-.002, p=.009). However, Black older adults appraised stressors as less upsetting than Whites. While stress appraisal did not moderate links between stress exposure and memory, appraising stressors as less upsetting was independently associated with better initial memory. Thus, Black-White disparities in initial memory was partially offset by Blacks participants' appraisal of stressors as less upsetting (standardized indirect effect=.002, p=.016).

DISCUSSION: Reducing chronic stress exposure may reduce racial disparities in ADRD risk. The counteractive effect of stress appraisal on Black-White disparities in episodic memory highlights resilience factors among Black older adults that should be characterized in future research to move beyond deficit models of ADRD inequality.

VL - 77 IS - 11 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Associations between life course marital biography and late-life memory decline. JF - Psychology and Aging Publisher Y1 - 2021 A1 - Afsara B. Zaheed A1 - Sharifian, Neika A1 - Morris, Emily P A1 - A Zarina Kraal A1 - Laura B Zahodne KW - cognitive aging KW - life course KW - Marital Status AB -

Late-life marital status is associated with cognitive aging; however, the influence of life course marital biography (i.e., changes in marital status) on late-life cognitive trajectories, as well as gender differences in the effects of marital biography, remain to be explored. Associations between (a) marital status at study baseline (currently married, previously married, never married) and (b) retrospectively reported life course marital biography (i.e., age at first marriage, time spent unmarried following initial marriage, history of divorce, history of widowhood) and up to 20 years of subsequent episodic memory trajectories were examined using latent growth curve models in 3,061 participants aged 51 + in the Health and Retirement Study 2017 Life History Mail Survey. Gender differences were examined with multiplicative interaction terms and stratified models. Participants who were married at study baseline demonstrated higher initial memory than previously and never married individuals. Older age at first marriage and shorter duration spent unmarried were each associated with better initial episodic memory among previously married individuals only; longer duration spent unmarried was associated with slower memory decline. Stratified models suggested that these associations may be driven by women. These results highlight the importance of considering multiple aspects of marital biography, not just current marital status, in cognitive aging research. Marital biography may have an enduring influence on cognitive aging, particularly among previously married older women. Future work is needed to identify mechanisms (e.g., socioeconomic resources, cognitive stimulation, self and spousal health, emotional support) through which marital histories influence cognitive aging. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

VL - 36 IS - 5 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Physical Activity in Early- and Mid-Adulthood are Associated with Longitudinal Memory Trajectories in Later-Life. JF - Journal of Gerontology: Series A Y1 - 2021 A1 - A Zarina Kraal A1 - Dotterer, Hailey L A1 - Sharifian, Neika A1 - Morris, Emily P A1 - Sol, Ketlyne A1 - Zaheed, Afara B A1 - Jacqui Smith A1 - Laura B Zahodne KW - cognitive aging KW - Exercise KW - Hypertension KW - Resilience AB -

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) in later-life may reduce dementia risk, but little is known regarding long-term cognitive effects of PA that occurred earlier in adulthood or mechanisms underlying associations. PA patterns at different ages may independently contribute to dementia risk, which would implicate multiple critical periods for intervention. The current study tested whether retrospective reports of PA in early- and mid-adulthood were independently associated with later-life longitudinal memory outcomes and whether associations were mediated by late-life cardiometabolic diseases.

METHODS: Participants comprised 5,200 Health and Retirement Study Life History Mail Survey respondents. Latent growth curves estimated independent associations between retrospectively reported PA in early-adulthood (age 18-29) and mid-adulthood (age 40-49) and 16-year episodic memory trajectories. Indirect pathways involving the maintenance of PA from early- to mid-adulthood and the influence of PA on later-life cardiometabolic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease) were also estimated.

RESULTS: PA in early- and mid-adulthood independently predicted higher initial memory level and slower memory decline in later-life, respectively. Early-adulthood PA was indirectly associated with later-life memory level through higher mid-adulthood PA and lower rates of later-life hypertension, as well as with subsequent memory decline through higher mid-adulthood PA.

CONCLUSIONS: The current findings highlight the importance of PA throughout adulthood, such that initiating and/or maintaining exercise in early- or mid-adulthood may be protective for later-life cognitive health, and hypertension appears to represent a key mediator of these effects.

VL - 76 IS - 8 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Subjective age, depressive symptoms, and cognitive functioning across five domains. JF - Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology Y1 - 2021 A1 - Morris, Emily P A1 - Afsara B. Zaheed A1 - Sharifian, Neika A1 - Sol, Ketlyne A1 - A Zarina Kraal A1 - Laura B Zahodne KW - Cognition KW - cognitive aging KW - Depressive symptoms KW - HCAP KW - Subjective age AB -

: Younger subjective age predicts better episodic memory and executive functioning performance independent of chronological age. This study examined whether subjective age is associated with performance in five cognitive domains, quantified the extent to which these relationships are mediated by depressive symptoms, and tested whether these associations are moderated by chronological age. Participants in this cross-sectional study included 993 adults aged 65 and older from the Health and Retirement Study's 2016 Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol. Moderated mediation models estimated direct and indirect effects of subjective age on factor scores representing episodic memory, executive functioning, language, visuoconstruction, and speed through depressive symptoms and tested whether associations differed according to chronological age. Depressive symptoms explained 21-32% of the associations between subjective age and language, speed, episodic memory, and executive functioning. Chronological age moderated the indirect effect involving language, such that depressive symptoms were more strongly related to worse language performance at older chronological ages. After accounting for indirect effects, direct effects of younger subjective age remained for language and speed domains. This study extends research on the cognitive correlates of subjective age and demonstrates that depressive symptoms partly mediate these relationships. Subjective age may bemost strongly associated with language among individuals at older chronological ages not because they are more sensitive to the negative mental health impact of feeling older than they are but because they may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of depressive symptoms on language ability. Additional longitudinal research is needed to determine whether links between subjective age and cognition are causal versus predictive.

VL - 43 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Everyday discrimination and subsequent cognitive abilities across five domains. JF - Neuropsychology Y1 - 2020 A1 - Laura B Zahodne A1 - Morris, Emily P A1 - Sharifian, Neika A1 - Afsara B. Zaheed A1 - A Zarina Kraal A1 - Sol, Ketlyne KW - Depressive symptoms KW - Discrimination KW - HCAP KW - vascular diseases AB -

OBJECTIVE: Previous research suggests that everyday discrimination is associated with worse concomitant performance in several cognitive domains, as well as faster subsequent declines in episodic memory. This study aimed to extend knowledge on the specificity, durability, and mechanisms of associations between everyday discrimination and cognition by using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and a longitudinal mediation design.

METHOD: Participants included 3,304 older adults in the Health and Retirement Study Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol. Discrimination was assessed using the Everyday Discrimination Scale. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the 8-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Vascular diseases were quantified as the self-reported presence of hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to estimate episodic memory, executive functioning, processing speed, language, and visuoconstruction across a battery of 13 neuropsychological tests. Structural equation models controlled for sociodemographics and baseline cognition ascertained 2 to 4 years prior.

RESULTS: Discrimination was associated with more depressive symptoms and vascular diseases. Depressive symptoms mediated negative effects of discrimination on subsequent functioning across all 5 cognitive domains. Vascular diseases additionally mediated negative effects of discrimination on processing speed. After accounting for mediators, direct negative effects of discrimination remained for executive functioning and visuoconstruction.

CONCLUSIONS: This national longitudinal study in the United States provides evidence for broad and enduring effects of everyday discrimination on cognitive aging, which appear to be partially mediated by mental and physical health. Future research should examine additional mechanisms as well as moderators of these associations to better understand points of intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

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