Extreme Heat, Living Alone, and Cognitive Decline: The Buffering Role of Neighborhood Social Cohesion

• In Event: 41065 - Population and Environment

Abstract

The 1995 Chicago heat wave demonstrated that social capital in communities can be a vital resource for older adults to cope with heat stress. Using the National, Social Life, Health and Aging Project (2010/2011 and 2015/2016) merged with U.S. temperature data, this is the first study to investigate whether neighborhood social cohesion and social ties mitigate the adverse impact of extreme heat on cognitive decline in later life. We conducted lagged dependent variable regression by living arrangement to examine the differences in the buffering role of local social resources for living alone vs. others. Results suggest that high exposure to extreme heat is marginally associated with cognitive decline for all adults, and social cohesion, but not social ties, mitigates this association. This buffering effect is prevalent only among those living alone, highlighting the crucial role of residents’ perceptions about their community in protecting vulnerable populations during the climate crisis.

Authors

• Haena Lee, Sungkyunkwan University

• Kathleen Cagney, University of Michigan

• Linda J. Waite, University of Chicago

• Justin H Lim, Seoul National University