Unfavorable social determinants of health are associated with lower cognitive performance in non‐Hispanic black men: the HABS‐HD Study

INTRODUCTION Non‐Hispanic Black (NHB) men experience disproportionate exposure to adverse social determinants of health (SDoH). The cumulative impact on cardiometabolic risk factors and cognitive and neuroimaging outcomes is not well understood. METHODS We analyzed data from 460 NHB men. Cumulative SDoH index spanning multiple domains was examined both categorically and continuously. Regression models were performed to estimate associations of cumulative SDoH index with cardiometabolic risk factors, cognitive performance, and neuroimaging biomarkers. RESULTS Higher cumulative SDoH burden was associated with a greater prevalence of diabetes, tobacco use, and cognitive impairment. Cumulative SDoH was not associated with neuroimaging biomarkers ( p > 0.05). Greater cumulative SDoH burden showed an independent association with poor memory, executive function, and processing speed ( p < 0.01) DISCUSSION Our findings identified social and structural factors that were linked to cardiometabolic risk and cognitive health among NHB men; however, cumulative SDoH burden was not independently associated with white matter hyperintensities or hippocampal volume.