Post-retirement cognitive declines were almost three times more acute among White Americans compared with their Black peers, and twice as large for men as for women.
That’s according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. It found that immediately after retirement, white adults tended to experience a significant worsening of cognitive function, whereas for Black retirees the decline was minimal.
White men experienced the steepest post-retirement cognitive decline, while Black women showed the least, according to the study, which tracked 2,226 participants over a period of up to 10 years. The findings were adjusted for socio-demographic variables as well as indicators of physical and mental health.
