Research shows that natural disaster exposure worsens cognitive function linked to childhood adversity in older adults, highlighting significant gender differences.
Although adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to poorer later-life cognitive function, little is known about how natural disasters, which may be perceived as stressful or traumatic, influence this relationship. Using the Health and Retirement Study, we investigated whether disaster exposure moderates the ACE-cognition association in 12,951 adults aged 50+ years [Mage = 64.6, SD = 10.1]. Cognitive performance score (range: 0-27) was calculated from word recall, serial 7's, and backward counting. At least one ACE was experienced by 35.6% and a natural disaster by 15.4% of the sample. In weighted regression models, ACEs and the ACEs*Disaster interaction were associated with 0.15 and 0.29 points lower cognitive performance scores, respectively. Stratified models revealed stronger associations in women than men. These findings suggest that natural disaster exposure is a potential environmental stressor that can exacerbate the effects of ACEs on cognitive performance later in life, especially in women.
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Lawrence et al. (2026) studied this question.
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