Histories of neighborhood socioeconomic status contribute to race differences in later‐life cognition

INTRODUCTION Neighborhood characteristics are increasingly implicated in cognitive health disparities, but no research has investigated how the historical context of neighborhoods shapes these disparities. METHODS Four hundred sixty‐four Black (55%) and White older adults (Mage = 63.6) were drawn from the Michigan Cognitive Aging Project, a community‐based, prospective study of older adults. Participants’ addresses at baseline (2017–2020) were geocoded and linked to 2000–2017 measures of neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES): disadvantage [NDis] and affluence [NAff]. Latent class growth analysis (LCGA) characterized 18 interpolated year trajectories of NSES across 1344 census tracts. Path analysis examined whether NSES trajectory classes mediated the association between race and a global cognition composite. RESULTS LCGA identified three NDis and two NAff trajectory classes, which were associated with participant race. Only one NDis class was associated with cognition, and it mediated the association between the Black race and cognition. DISCUSSION Disinvestment in neighborhoods may be particularly salient in race disparities in cognitive function. Highlights Race is implicated in the likelihood of living in more disadvantaged neighborhoods. Historical trends in neighborhood disadvantage are associated with cognitive function in older adulthood. Identifying patterns of neighborhood change may inform neighborhood‐level interventions.