Reviews of current literature studying natives in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and the United States from participants aged 45 to 94 years old reveal varied prevalence rates for cognitive impairment not related to dementia, from 4.4% to 17.7%. These results can be interpreted in the context of culturally biased neurocognitive tests, preexisting health conditions, poor access to healthcare, lower educational attainment, and/or old age. Sex
Women
Compared to their male counterparts, womens scores on the Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) tend to decline at slightly faster rates with age. Males with mild cognitive impairment tend to show more microstructural damage than females with MCI, but seem to have a greater cognitive reserve due to larger absolute brain size and neuronal density. As a result, women tend to manifest symptoms of cognitive decline at lower thresholds than men do. This effect seems to be moderated by educational attainment - higher education is associated with later diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment as neuropathological load increases. Transgender Individuals
LGBT elders face numerous disparities as they approach end-of-life. The transgender community fears the risk of hate crime, elder abuse, homelessness, loss of identity, and loss of independence as they age. As a result, depression and suicidality are particularly high within the demographic. Intersectionality - the overlap of several minority identities - can play a major role in health outcomes, as transgender people can be discriminated against for their race, sexuality, gender identity, and age.
Differences in cognitive aging might be tied to the lack of or reduced access to medical care and, as a result, suffer disproportionately from negative health outcomes. As the global population grows, diversifies, and grays, there is an increasing need to understand these inequities. Race
African Americans
In the United States, Black and African American demographics disproportionately experience metabolic dysfunction with age. This has many downstream effects, but the most prominent of these is the toll on cardiovascular health. Metabolite profiles of the healthy aging index - a score that assesses neurocognitive function, among other correlates of health through the years - are associated with cardiovascular disease. Healthy cardiovascular function is critical for maintaining neurocognitive efficiency into old age. Attention, verbal learning, and cognitive set ability are related to diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride levels, and HDL cholesterol levels, respectively. Latinos
The Latino demographic is most likely to develop metabolic syndrome - the combination of high blood pressure, high blood sugar, elevated triglyceride levels, and abdominal obesity - which not only increases the risk of cardiac events and type II diabetes but also is associated with lower neurocognitive function during midlife. Among different Latin heritages, frequency of the dementia-predisposing apoE4 allele was highest for Caribbean Latinos (Cubans, Dominicans, and Puerto Ricans) and lowest among mainland Latinos (Mexicans, Central Americans, and South Americans). Conversely, frequency of the neuroprotective apoE2 allele was highest for Caribbean Latinos and lowest for those of mainland heritage. Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous populations are often understudied in research.