Gerontology Club Presents: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Late-Life Cognitive Impairment

Please join us to hear Dr. Kyler Sherman-Wilkins, assistantpProfessor from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Missouri State University, for his talk titled: “Mind the Gap: Investigating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Later-Life Cognitive Impairment and Dementia.”

Epidemiological and demographic studies have consistently shown that racial and ethnic minorities and women experience poorer later-life cognitive health than white men. What is not so clear, however, is what are the underlying mechanisms linking racial/ethnic and gender group membership to cognitive functioning? In this talk, I will discuss my ongoing research examining the social, psychological and genotypic/phenotypic mechanisms that are largely responsible for the stratification of cognitive health in the U.S. context. This presentation aims to inform the audience about the extent of the disparities in cognitive functioning in older age as well as the causes of these disparities.

Free