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How does living among more peers as an older adult impact cognitive function?

Esther Friedman, PhD, a former Harvard RWJF Health & Society Scholar, is lead author on a study in which she and her colleagues explore the impact of living in a neighborhood with a higher percentage of older adults on cognitive function. The researchers found that those who live with a higher percentage of older adults had better cognitive function, although the neighborhood age structure did not seem to impact cognitive decline.…

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Estimating the Co-Development of Cognitive Decline and Physical Mobility Limitations in Older U.S. Adults

Former Harvard RWJF Health & Society scholar Steven Haas is an author on a new study published in Demography. The study examined the co-development of cognitive and physical function in older Americans using an age-heterogeneous sample drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (1998–2008). The study results indicated that favorable cognitive health and mobility at initial measurement were associated with faster decline in the alternate functional domain.

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Sheridan explores neurogenetics approach to defining differential susceptibility to institutional care

Harvard Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar program alum Margaret A. Sheridan, PhD, has co-authored a study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Development that explores how genetic susceptibility interacts with extreme differences in the early caregiving environments (institutional vs. non-institutional) to predict distinct outcomes of neurodevelopment at age 8.