Advancing Cognability: A Mixed Methods Study of Neighborhoods and Dementia Risk Across Adulthood

Growing evidence suggests that neighborhoods shape cognitive health and dementia risk. Yet we know little about which specific neighborhood features matter most, when across adulthood, and at what geographic scale. This pilot study advances the concept of Cognability, which captures how neighborhood services, amenities, and hazards such as parks, recreation centers, civic/social organizations, and highways support or hinder behaviors important for cognitive health. We will first conduct in-depth stationary and mobile interviews with 60 adults across the Denver metropolitan area to understand how people at different stages of adulthood experience and use their local environments. We will then use these insights to guide analyses of four large U.S. longitudinal studies spanning adolescence through later life to examine whether specific neighborhood features predict trajectories of cognitive function. By integrating lived experience with population-level data, this project aims to identify actionable community characteristics that could support cognitive health and help reduce Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia risk across the life course.