HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ALL ISSUES SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sachs-Ericsson, N. Articles by Blazer, D. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sachs-Ericsson, N. Articles by Blazer, D. G.

Racial Differences in Cognitive Decline in a Sample of Community-Dwelling Older Adults

The Mediating Role of Education and Literacy

Received January 4, 2005; revised March 21, 2005; accepted March 22, 2005. From the Dept. of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL (NSE) and the Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC (DGB). Send correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Natalie Sachs-Ericsson, Dept. of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1270. e-mail: sachs{at}psy.fsu.edu
© 2005 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry

Objective: The authors examined racial differences in cognitive decline (CD) and the role of education and literacy in mediating this relationship. Methods: The relationship between race and CD was examined over a 3-year period in a biracial community sample of older adults (N=3,097) living in North Carolina. Results: African Americans, as compared with White participants, had fewer years of education and were more likely to be assessed by the interviewer as not literate. Race predicted CD such that African Americans had higher rates than Whites. When education and literacy were entered into the analysis, the association between race and CD, although remaining statistically significant, was reduced and was of relatively weak magnitude. Also, physical functioning problems also predicted CD and were found to be greater in African Americans than in Whites. Conclusions: Education and literacy may be protective factors against CD. Socioeconomic disadvantages experienced by older African Americans in the South early in life, leading to poorer educational opportunities, may explain, in part, the increased rates of CD in older African Americans versus Whites.

Key Words: Alzheimer Disease • Outcome Studies • Racial Differences • Cognition • Sociodemographic Factors • Literacy

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. Yaffe Research and Care of Patients With Dementia: Moving Beyond Memory Loss Am J Geriatr Psychiatry, November 1, 2005; 13(11): 921 - 925. [Full Text] [PDF]