Early life exposure to structural sexism and late-life memory trajectories among black and white women and men in the United States

Introduction: We investigated whether early life exposure to state-level structural sexism influenced late-life memory trajectories among United Staes (U.S.) -born women and men and determined whether associations differed between racialized groups.

Methods: Participants were from the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP; N = 2314) and Health and Retirement Study (HRS; N = 18,631). State-level structural sexism was measured via U.S. census and administrative data and linked to participants in each study by birth year and state.

Results: Exposure to greater structural sexism was associated with lower baseline memory performance among WHICAP women and HRS men and faster memory decline among women in both studies. Women born in the state with the highest structural sexism showed memory decline like that of those who were 9 years older. Structural sexism-baseline memory associations were stronger among Black women than White women.

Discussion: Early life exposure to structural sexism negatively impacts late-life memory trajectories among women.

Highlights: A longitudinal measure captured state-level structural sexism from 1900 to 1960. Exposure to structural sexism was associated with worse late-life memory outcomes. Associations were strongest among women for memory decline. The negative impact on memory performance was stronger among Black women. Lowering structural sexism may, in turn, reduce memory decline among women.