1. Cognitive Aging with Dementia, Mild Cognitive Impairment, or No Impairment: A Comparison of Same- and Mixed-Sex Couples.
- Author
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Correro II, Anthony N., Gauthreaux, Kathryn, Perales-Puchalt, Jaime, Chen, Yen-Chi, Chan, Kwun C.G., Kukull, Walter A., and Flatt, Jason D.
- Subjects
COGNITIVE aging ,MILD cognitive impairment ,MINORITY stress ,ALZHEIMER'S disease ,APOLIPOPROTEIN E4 ,DISEASE risk factors ,DEMENTIA - Abstract
Background: Lesbian and gay older adults have health disparities that are risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, yet little is known about the neurocognitive aging of sexual minority groups. Objective: To explore cross-sectional and longitudinal dementia outcomes for adults in same-sex relationships (SSR) and those in mixed-sex relationships (MSR). Methods: This prospective observational study utilized data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set (NACC UDS) collected from contributing Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers. Participants were adults aged 55+ years at baseline with at least two visits in NACC UDS (from September 2005 to March 2021) who had a spouse, partner, or companion as a co-participant. Outcome measures included CDR
® Dementia Staging Instrument, NACC UDS neuropsychological testing, and the Functional Activities Questionnaire. Multivariable linear mixed-effects models accounted for center clustering and repeated measures by individual. Results: Both MSR and SSR groups experienced cognitive decline regardless of baseline diagnosis. In general, MSR and SSR groups did not differ statistically on cross-sectional or longitudinal estimates of functioning, dementia severity, or neuropsychological testing, with two primary exceptions. People in SSR with mild cognitive impairment showed less functional impairment at baseline (FAQ M = 2.61, SD = 3.18 vs. M = 3.97, SD = 4.53, respectively; p < 0.01). The SSR group with dementia had less steep decline in attention/working memory (β estimates = –0.10 versus –0.18; p < 0.01). Conclusion: Participants in SSR did not show cognitive health disparities consistent with a minority stress model. Additional research into protective factors is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2023
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