Acculturation, Cognitive Performance and Decline, and Incident Dementia/CIND: The Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging.

: US Latinos, a growing, aging population, are disproportionately burdened by cognitive decline and dementia. Modifiable risk factors are needed for interventions aimed at reducing risk. Broad sociocultural context may illuminate complex etiology among culturally diverse Latinos. Among N=1,418 older, predominately Mexican-descent, low-socioeconomic Latinos in Sacramento, CA, we examined whether US acculturation was associated with cognitive performance, decline, and dementia/cognitive impairment, no dementia over 10 years, and whether education modified associations (Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging, 1998-2008). Analyses used linear mixed models, competing risk regression, and inverse-probability-censoring weights for attrition. High US acculturation participants had better cognitive performance (0.21 fewer cognitive errors at grand-mean-centered age 70) than low acculturation, adjusting for sociodemographic factors, practice effects, and survey language. Results may be driven by cultural language use rather identity factors (e.g. ethnic identity, interactions). Rate of cognitive decline and dementia/cognitive impairment, no dementia risk did not differ by acculturation, regardless of education (β [standard error]: 0.00 [0.00] and (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 0.81 [0.49, 1.35], respectively). High US acculturation was associated with better cognitive performance among older, low socioeconomic Latinos. Acculturation may benefit cognition when socioeconomic position is low. Future studies should incorporate extended longitudinal assessments among more diverse groups.