Stability and Change in Cognitive Status Classification of Black Older Adults

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine whether stability and change in cognitive status are associated with sociodemographic characteristics and health function. Design: Secondary analysis of data. Setting: Baltimore Study of Black Aging—Patterns of Cognitive Aging. Participants: Community-dwelling black adults (N = 407; mean age 68.6 ± 9.1). Measurements: Baseline (n = 602) and 33-month follow-up (n = 450) assessments of cognition, health, and psychosocial function. Results: For the present analyses, participants were grouped as being cognitively normal (n = 249), having stable mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n = 32), or being MCI converters (n = 72; normal at baseline, MCI at follow-up) or reverters (n = 54; MCI at baseline, normal at follow-up). Multivariate analysis of variance showed that the groups differed significantly in education and lung function (P <.010). Post hoc analyses indicated that converters had fewer years of education than the other groups, whereas those who were cognitively normal had better lung function than converters and reverters (P <.050). Conclusion: These results suggest that education and lung health are associated with patterns of cognitive status change and stability. Future research should account for sociodemographic and health factors when examining stability of cognitive status classifications.