# Neighborhood Environments and Cognitive Decline Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in China

> **NIH NIH R03** · CLEMSON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $87,269

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Our long-term goal is to better understand how neighborhood environments determine health trajectories
across the lifespan of different societies. With rapid population aging, cognitive impairment and dementias
have become major health and social problems worldwide, causing loss of independence in daily activities and
lowering quality of life in old age. Previous research has demonstrated an association between neighborhood
environments and cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults. However, it is not well understood how
neighborhood context contributes to cognitive function. The primary objective for the proposed research is to
determine the underlying mechanisms and potential moderating factors in the relationship between
neighborhood environments and cognitive function and cognitive decline in middle and old age in a developing
country. China is being targeted as a developing country that is experiencing rapid population aging, which has
resulted in rising prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The country is also experiencing
both a decline in families as the major source of eldercare and a lack of long term care facilities. Further,
specific cultural, social, and economic context factors in China that warrant attention when considering the
influence of neighborhood environments on health in aging adults will provide a rich landscape for identifying
mechanisms and factors that may generalize across cultures. The project has three specific aims: (1) to
identify the mechanisms of the effects of neighborhood environments on cognitive decline among middle-aged
and older Chinese adults; (2) to determine whether the effects of neighborhood environments on cognitive
decline vary by gender, urban/rural residency, and age cohort; and (3) to determine whether neighborhood
environments have different effects on different domains of cognition. This project will analyze data from three
waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and other sources. It will measure
neighborhood natural, built and social environments using CHARLS’s community survey and other sources
and examine their separate and joint effects on cognitive decline. A series of multi-level linear growth curve
models will be estimated to identify the mechanisms in the relationship between neighborhood environments
and cognitive decline and examine whether this relationship varies by gender, urban/rural residence, age
cohort and different domains of cognition. This approach is innovative because it shifts the focus from the
establishment of an association between neighborhood environments and cognition to the identification of
mechanisms and contexts in this relationship. The proposed research is significant because it can advance our
understanding of the specific pathways between neighborhood environments and health in later life. With rapid
population aging and overburdened medical care systems worldwide, identifying the mec...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9873278
- **Project number:** 1R03AG065637-01
- **Recipient organization:** CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Ye Luo
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $87,269
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-02-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9873278

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9873278, Neighborhood Environments and Cognitive Decline Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in China (1R03AG065637-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9873278. Licensed CC0.

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