title: Sociodemographic Correlates of Cognition in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the methodology utilized to evaluate cognitive function in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and to present preliminary results by age, sex, and race/ethnicity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional measurements of a prospective observational cohort.
  
  
  METHODS
  Residents of 6 U.S. communities free of cardiovascular disease at baseline (2000-02).
  
  
  METHODS
  4,591 adults who completed the fifth MESA clinical examination in 2011-12; mean age 70.3 (SD: 9.5) years, 53.1% women, 40.7% non-Hispanic white, 26.4% non-Hispanic black, 21.4% Hispanic, and 11.5% Chinese.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cognitive battery consisted of the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (version 2) to evaluate global cognition, the Digit Symbol Code for processing speed and Digit Spans Forward and Backward to assess memory. Demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural covariates were also collected for descriptive statistics and multivariate modeling.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Associations between socioeconomic factors and cognition revealed that age, race/ethnicity, education, occupational status, household income, health insurance type, household size, place of birth, years and generation in U.S., and the presence of the ApoE4 allele were significantly associated with performance on the cognitive tests, although patterns varied by specific test, racial/ethnicity, and sociocultural factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As many of the influencing cultural and socioeconomic factors measured here are complex, multifactorial, and may not be adequately quantified, caution has been recommended with regard to comparison and interpretation of racial/ethnic group performance differences from these cross-sectional models. These data provide a baseline for future exams and more comprehensive longitudinal analyses of the contributions of subclinical and clinical diseases to cognitive function and decline.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Family Medicine, Epidemiology, and Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Electronic address: fitzpal@u.washington.edu.
authors.forename: Annette L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Fitzpatrick
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Rapp
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luchsinger
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine and Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Felicia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hill-Briggs
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
authors.forename: Alvaro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.affiliation: Department of Cerebrovascular Neurology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gottesman
authors.affiliation: Psychological Medicine Service, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Hochang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carnethon
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Kiang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Kayleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: A Richey
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Sharrett
authors.affiliation: USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
authors.forename: Alexis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frazier-Wood
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Constantine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lyketsos
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Seeman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000208:ethnology*; D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003469:Culture; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011581:Psychological Tests; D044469:Racial Groups; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: MESA; cognition; methods; multi-ethnic; race; socioeconomic