Racial and ethnic differences in the relationship between financial worry and white matter hyperintensities in Latinx, non-Latinx Black, and non-Latinx White older adults

Emily P Morris; Indira C Turney; Jordan D Palms; Afsara B Zaheed; Ketlyne Sol; Erica Amarante; Juliet Beato; Anthony G Chesebro; Clarissa D Morales; Jennifer J Manly; Adam M Brickman; Laura B Zahodne

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2023.05.008

Racial and ethnic differences in the relationship between financial worry and white matter hyperintensities in Latinx, non-Latinx Black, and non-Latinx White older adults

Neurobiol Aging. 2023 Sep:129:149-156. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2023.05.008. Epub 2023 May 18.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁴ Social Environment and Health Program, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

PMID: 37331245
PMCID: PMC10878173
DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2023.05.008

Abstract

Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and contributes to racial and ethnic health disparities. However, traditional measures of SES may not accurately represent individual financial circumstances among non-Latinx Black and Latinx older adults due to longstanding structural inequities. This study examined associations between multiple SES indicators (education, income, subjective financial worry) and WMHs across non-Latinx Black, Latinx, and non-Latinx White older adults in the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (N = 662). Latinx participants reported the lowest SES and greatest financial worry, while Black participants evidenced the most WMHs. Greater financial worry was associated with higher WMHs volume above and beyond education and income, which were not associated with WMHs. However, this association was only evident among Latinx older adults. These results provide evidence for the minority poverty hypothesis and highlight the need for systemic socioeconomic interventions to alleviate brain health disparities in older adulthood.

Keywords: Aging; Racial and ethnic disparities; Socioeconomic status; White matter hyperintensities.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Black People / psychology
Black or African American* / psychology
Brain / diagnostic imaging
Financial Stress* / diagnostic imaging
Financial Stress* / ethnology
Health Status Disparities
Hispanic or Latino* / psychology
Humans
New York City
Racial Groups / ethnology
Racial Groups / psychology
Social Class
White Matter* / diagnostic imaging
White Matter* / pathology
White* / psychology

Racial and ethnic differences in the relationship between financial worry and white matter hyperintensities in Latinx, non-Latinx Black, and non-Latinx White older adults

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

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