Effects of Lifestyle Factors on Cognition in Minority Population of Older Adults: A Review.

The onset of dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) is projected to expand over the next several decades in the United States as the population ages. However, the cognitive health burden is not equally distributed among the population, as Hispanics and African Americans are at higher risk of AD when compared with Non-Hispanic Whites. There is some evidence to indicate that cognitive decline may be associated with lifestyle factors and that interventions in these domains may prevent or delay this decline. These lifestyle factors include social engagement, physical activity, both aerobic and strength training, dietary intake, sleep and stress. This review summarizes, in general, what is known about the relationship between risk factors and cognition and, in particular what is known about this relationship in minority populations. The results show that the relationship between these risk factors and cognitive decline is stronger for some of the factors such as physical activity and dietary intake and weaker for the other factors depending on what is measured and in what populations. It does appear, however, that the studies in minority populations is limited and warrants more targeted research and interventions.

Examining the psychometric properties of a refined perceived stress scale during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) measures general life stress and the Impact of Events Scale (IES) measures retrospective stress from a specific event; both have been validated across various audiences and settings. However, neither measure stress during an evolving public health crisis. The aim was to refine the PSS to measure stress during an event (e.g. COVID-19 pandemic) and examine its psychometric properties within a 4-year Hispanic-Serving Institution in the Bronx, NY. Three items from the IES were added to and one PSS item was removed from the PSS-10, creating a new PSS-12. Cronbach's α for the scale was 0.902 for faculty and 0.903 for students, indicating high internal consistency. Factor analyses also supported calculation of two subtotals similarly across groups. The PSS-12 is a valid instrument to measure perceived stress during a public health crisis, particularly among populations that already experience community health disparities.