Associations Between Neighborhood Service, Religious, and Civic Organizations and Cognitive Decline for Older Mexican Americans Residing in Urban and Rural Areas

Objectives Neighborhood resources are protective factors for healthy cognitive aging, yet the impact of these resources may vary by urbanicity. We examined urban-rural differences in the association between the availability of neighborhood social services, religious, and civic organizations, and cognitive decline among older Mexican Americans. Method Data from 628 participants ( M Age = 80) in 2004–2013 Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly were linked to the National Neighborhood Data Archive. Cognitive impairment was measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination. Results Among urban residents, the presence of religious organizations was associated with better cognition levels, but a higher number of civic organizations were linked to worse levels and a steeper decline in cognition. There were no effects of neighborhood resources on cognition among rural residents. Discussion The differential impacts of organization types and urbanicity should be considered when promoting cognitively protective neighborhood resources for older Mexican Americans.