Department of City & Regional Planning - Open Access Policy Deposits

This series is automatically populated with publications deposited by UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design Department of City & Regional Planning researchers in accordance with the University of California’s open access policies. For more information see Open Access Policy Deposits and the UC Publication Management System.

Cover page of Associations between neighborhood built environment and cognition vary by apolipoprotein E genotype: Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Associations between neighborhood built environment and cognition vary by apolipoprotein E genotype: Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

(2019)

We examined whether neighborhood built environment (BE) and cognition associations in older adults vary by apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 4091 participants. Neighborhood characteristics included social and walking destination density (SDD, WDD), intersection density, and proportion of land dedicated to retail. Individuals were categorized as APOE ε2 (lower AD risk), APOE ε4 (higher AD risk), or APOE ε3 carriers. Among APOE ε2 carriers, greater proportion of land dedicated to retail was associated with better global cognition, and greater SDD, WDD, intersection density, and proportion of land dedicated to retail was associated with better processing speed. These associations were not observed in APOE ε3 or ε4 carriers. APOE ε2 carriers may be more susceptible to the potentially beneficial effects of denser neighborhood BEs on cognition; however, longitudinal studies are needed.