Incident traumatic experiences and poor financial well-being: A double hit for cognitive decline?

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Traumatic experiences in older age may accelerate cognitive decline, especially when experienced alongside financial hardship.

Methods

In data from the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2020), we estimated linear mixed-effects models stratified by financial well-being to estimate the effect of incident traumatic experiences on memory decline, adjusted for childhood and adulthood sociodemographics.

Results

In N = 3432 participants, incident traumatic experiences appeared associated with lower baseline memory score ( β^  = -0.015, 9 -0.053 to 0.023) and faster decline ( β^  = -0.007, 95% CI = -0.012 to --0.001). Observed associations were larger in those with worse financial well-being (baseline memory score: β^  = -0.070, 95% CI = -0.200 to 0.060; m

SUBMITTER: Kezios KL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12696043 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature