Abstract: In the United States, the incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is higher among certain racial/ethnic minority groups, even after controlling for socioeconomic status and vascular disease. Persistent and unexplained disparities suggest: (1) known AD risk factors exhibit differential impact across race/ethnicity and/or (2) novel risk factors for AD exist for racial/ethnic minorities. I will present data from multiple longitudinal studies of cognitive aging that support each of these possibilities. Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, racial/ethnic minorities in the United States face more social and economic constraints, receive lower quality education, and recurrently encounter negative environmental messages that can corrode psychological and other resources. Therefore, I will focus on how psychosocial factors of perceived discrimination, depressive symptoms, and external locus of control contribute to dementia disparities.

Bio: Dr. Zahodne is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan. She is a clinical neuropsychologist interested in the life course psychosocial determinants of cognitive and brain aging. Dr. Zahodne leads ancillary studies to the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project, a population-based longitudinal study of African Americans, Caribbean Hispanics, and Whites living in northern Manhattan, to reveal mechanisms of racial/ethnic disparities in Alzheimer’s disease. She is also an investigator on Project Talent, a 50+ year longitudinal study that will reveal new information about how early-life experiences, particularly racial segregation in schools, influence Alzheimer’s disease risk later in life. Dr. Zahodne recently initiated a community-based study of brain and cognitive aging among diverse older adults living in SE Michigan.