How where you live shapes midlife disability and thinking skills
Implications of residential location in midlife disability and cognitive functioning among the poor vs. rich: within the US and cross-country comparisons
This project looks at how neighborhood, county, and state environments across a person’s life relate to disability and thinking skills in midlife, and how those links differ for poorer versus richer adults in the U.S. and other countries.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Michigan at Ann Arbor NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ann Arbor, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11235917 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
We compare adults with similar personal backgrounds who live in different neighborhoods to see whether area-level factors like social vulnerability, the built environment, local programs, and state policies are tied to midlife disability and cognitive function. The team uses life-history data to map residential histories over the life course and applies quasi-experimental methods to better separate neighborhood effects from individual traits. Analyses use measures at tract, county, and state levels and then compare U.S. findings to patterns in other high-income countries. Findings aim to point to neighborhood or policy targets that could reduce widening health disparities in working-age adults.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are adults in midlife or working age who can provide or allow access to their residential history and information about disability and cognitive function.
Not a fit: People seeking immediate clinical treatments or those without residential history data are unlikely to directly benefit from this observational research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify neighborhood changes or policy actions that help lower disability and slow cognitive decline in midlife, especially for disadvantaged groups.
How similar studies have performed: Prior studies have linked neighborhood context to health and cognition, but the combination of life-course residential histories and cross-country comparison in this project is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
Ann Arbor, United States
- University of Michigan at Ann Arbor — Ann Arbor, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Choi, Hwajung — University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
- Study coordinator: Choi, Hwajung
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.