Religious participation is associated with fewer dementia diagnoses among Black people in the United States

Introduction: Black people had the highest prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) of any racial/ethnic group in the United States (US) as of 2020. As racial disparities in the prevalence of ADRD are being investigated, more evidence is necessary to determine the pathways and mechanisms that either slow ADRD progression or improve quality of life for those affected. Religion/spirituality (R/S) has been shown to affect health outcomes but has rarely been studied as a possible pathway for reducing ADRD risk. Crucially, Black people also report higher levels of R/S than other racial/ethnic groups in the United States. This research asks if R/S affects ADRD risk among Black adults and if any effects persist after controlling for hypertension.

Methods: We conducted a secondary data analysis drawing from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative longitudinal dataset with an oversampling of Black adults.

Results: We used logistic regression analysis to demonstrate how R/S has an ameliorating impact on ADRD risk among Black people, even after controlling for hypertension. Those who never attended religious services had 2.37 higher odds of being diagnosed with ADRD than those who attended more than once a week. Further, as R/S attendance increased, ADRD risk decreased linearly.

Conclusion: These findings demonstrate the importance that existing cultural networks (e.g., R/S) can have for reducing ADRD burden for Black people and has important implications for the role of R/S in shaping ADRD symptomatology.