ArticleSocial science & medicine (1982)2022
Cognability: An Ecological Theory of neighborhoods and cognitive aging.
Article in Social science & medicine (1982), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
63 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A meta-analytical umbrella review assessing urban environment exposures and cognitive health outcomes.Age and ageing · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of neighborhood built environment on cognitive function in older adults: a systematic review.BMC geriatrics · 2024Pooled it
- Practical considerations for characterization of the external exposome in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias cohorts.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Association Between Changes in Perceived Neighborhood and Cognitive Performance Within Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity Across the Life Span (HANDLS) Black Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Towards a Multidimensional Model of Neurocognitive Disorders (MOND Model): Integrating Evidence from a Critical Review into a Model for Future Research.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Review
- The social environment and cognitive aging over the life course: laying out critical concepts and research gaps.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Review
- Street view-based exposure to greenspace and mortality: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.Environment international · 2026Article
- A quantitative intersectional approach to measuring change in built environment amenities and the association with mortality in U.S. counties.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2026Article
- Racial/ethnic variation of neighborhood social cohesion, loneliness, and cognitive functioning among midlife and older U.S. adults.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026Article
- Effect of Environment on the Cognition of Older Adults: A Narrative Review.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Measuring "third places": Comparing neighborhood data for cognitive health research.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Social connection and cognitive health: A review of concepts, measures, and research priorities.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Review
- Integrating contextual determinants and polygenic risk to examine dementia and late-life cognition in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Integrating the physical environment into Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease related dementias research: A Gateway Exposome Coordinating Center (GECC) agenda on gaps and priorities.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Review
- AARP Age-Friendly community designation and neighborhood resources to support healthy aging nationwide, 2012-2017.Health & place · 2026Article
- Cognability across adulthood: A qualitative investigation of neighborhoods and cognitive health behaviors.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2026Article
- Living in Historically Redlined Neighborhoods and the Cognitive Function of Black and White Adults.Journal of aging and health · 2026Article
- No Place Like Home? Local Crime and Older Adults' Time at Home.Social problems · 2026Article
- Broadband Availability and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Prevalence in Central Appalachia.Journal of social service research · 2026Article
- Beyond the Block: Social Network Extralocality and Cognitive Function Among U.S. Older Adults.Journal of aging and health · 2026Article
3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
While a growing body of evidence points to potentially modifiable individual risk factors for dementia, the built and social environments in which people develop and navigate cognitive decline are largely overlooked. This paper proposes a new theoretical concept, Cognability, to conceptualize how supportive an area is to cognitive health among aging residents. Cognability incorporates a constellation of both positive and negative neighborhood features related to physical activity, social interaction and cognitive stimulation in later life. We analyzed data from the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke Study, a national sample of older Black and white adults in the United States (n = 21,151; mean age at assessment = 67; data collected 2006-2017). Generalized additive multilevel models examined how cognitive function varied by neighborhood features. Access to civic and social organizations, recreation centers, fast-food and coffee establishments, arts centers, museums, and highways were significantly associated with cognitive function. Race-, gender-, and education-specific models did not yield substantial improvements to the full-model. Our results suggest that the unequal distribution of amenities and hazards across neighborhoods may help account for considerable inequities observed in cognitive health among older adults. Cognability advances ecological theories of aging through an innovative "whole neighborhood" approach. It aims to identify which specific neighborhood features are most protective of cognitive health among aging adults to inform upstream public health initiatives, community interventions, and policy.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.