- September 11, 2020 from 12:00-1:00pm
- Virtual Presentation through BlueJeans at https://bluejeans.com/361095905
- Please RSVP by emailing Lisa Maturo at Lisa.M.Maturo@christianacare.org.
- Please include your full name, email address, and institution/organization.
- We will provide instructions on obtaining CME credit for attendance.
Neighborhood disadvantage has been linked to poor health; however, research has not adequately examined its influence, across multiple domains of disadvantage, on neurocognitive function and underlying brain health in older adults. Thus, the objective was to examine associations between neighborhood disadvantage, brain health, and neurocognitive performance, and examine age and sex as effect modifiers. The analysis included 136 older adults with a mean age of 68.04y who underwent neuropsychological and psychosocial testing and 3T cranial magnetic resonance imaging. Neighborhood disadvantage was characterized using the Area Deprivation Index (ADI). Multivariable regression analysis, adjusted for age, sex, education, and depression, showed that greater ADI score (greater disadvantage) was associated with poorer working memory performance (p<.05) and lower hippocampal volumes (p<.05), with no evidence of effect modification. Results suggest that greater neighborhood disadvantage may play a role in memory and underlying brain structure, which are vital to quality of life in older adulthood.
Meet the Speaker
Dr. Regina Wright is Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Associate Dean for Diversity in the College of Health Sciences at the University of Delaware. Dr. Wright joined the faculty in 2011. Dr. Wright is a psychologist with an active program of research that focuses on the association between cardiovascular risk factors, brain, and cognitive outcomes among older adults, with a particular interest in African-American health disparities. She also teaches in the BSN and PhD programs in the School of Nursing. A native of Delaware, and an alumnus of UD, Dr. Wright earned her M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Villanova University and her Ph.D. in Research Neuropsychology from Howard University before completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Duke University Center for Aging and Human Development.
This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit