Chicago ZIP Code-Linked Area Deprivation Index as a Predictor of Dementia Diagnosis

Dementia risk is influenced by biological and lifestyle factors as well as broader socioeconomic conditions; however, the extent to which socioeconomic deprivation creates structural exposures that affect cognitive aging remains unclear. In this study, we examined whether a neighborhood-level, integrative measure of socioeconomic deprivation, the Area Deprivation Index (ADI), is associated with dementia diagnosis in the City of Chicago using archival data from neuropsychological evaluations from 2017-2025. We hypothesized that higher ADI would be associated with increased odds of dementia diagnosis, even after adjusting for individual-level demographic characteristics such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, and education. While ADI was associated with dementia diagnosis in partially adjusted models, this relationship was attenuated and no longer significant after accounting for individual-level factors. These findings suggest that neighborhood deprivation may not independently predict dementia risk, but instead reflects broader socioeconomic conditions, such as education, that are associated with cognitive outcomes.