Occupational Determinants of Cognitive and Brain Health Among Middle-Aged and Older Latinos in the U.S.

About This Grant

PROJECT SUMMARY As the burden of Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD) grows, understanding how occupational factors impact brain and cognitive health is critical. However, research on the role of occupational stimulation, such as occupational complexity, remains inconclusive, and the impact of occupational stressors on cognitive and brain health has yet to be explored. Jobs with repetitive tasks, low autonomy, and high physical demands may contribute to cognitive decline, brain atrophy, and increased dementia risk. Furthermore, there is a lack of evidence on how these factors specifically impact US Latinos, who are often employed in low-wage occupations and face a higher risk of AD/ADRD. Understanding how occupational stressors and complexity affect cognitive and brain aging among US Latinos, is crucial. The overarching research objectives of this proposal are: (1) to investigate how physical and mental occupational stressors affect mid-life cognitive function in US immigrant Latinas in rural and semi-rural areas – an underrepresented group in research, and (2) to disentangle the effects of occupational complexity from physical occupational stressors on brain and cognitive health in US Latinos, considering effect heterogeneity by Latin American heritage, and US nativity. The central hypothesis is that higher occupational complexity promotes cognitive and brain health, but occupational stressors may outweigh benefits. To address these objectives, I will (1) estimate the longitudinal effect of physical and mental occupational stressors from early adulthood to midlife on cognitive function; (2) estimate the individual effects of physical occupational stressors and occupational complexity on AD/ADRD neuroimaging biomarkers and (3) estimate the individual and joint effects of hypothetical interventions on physical occupational stressors and occupational complexity on cognitive function, cognitive decline, and mild cognitive impairment, and evaluate effect heterogeneity by sex, Latin American heritage, and US nativity. I will use data from two NIA-funded studies: (1) Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas Maternal Cognition Study and the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos-Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging (SOL-INCA), and ancillary study SOL-INCA-MRI. Under the guidance of a multidisciplinary mentorship team, the accompanying training plan builds on my background in medicine, epidemiology and statistical methods with additional training in (1) occupational epidemiology; (2) measuring and modeling cognitive function on Spanish-speaking/bilingual communities; (3) neuroimaging biomarkers for AD/ADRD research. The combined research and training plans will prepare me to become a successful researcher integrating clinical expertise, cutting-edge epidemiologic methods, and social science theories to understand social drivers of AD/ADRD. The findings will uncover the mechanisms linking occupational exposures and AD/ADRD and inform interventions and policies to reduce AD/ADRD by improving working conditions.