Neighborhood Characteristics and Inflammation Among Older Black Americans: The Moderating Effects of Hopelessness and Pessimism

Background Research documents the adverse health effects of systemic inflammation. Overall, older Black Americans tend to have higher inflammation than older non-Hispanic White adults. Given that inflammation is related to a range of chronic health problems that disproportionately affect Blacks compared to Whites, this racial disparity in inflammation may contribute to racial disparities in particular chronic health problems. Thus, a better understanding of its determinants in the older Black population is of critical importance. This analysis examined the association between neighborhood characteristics and inflammation in a national sample of older non-Hispanic Black Americans. An additional aim of this study was to determine whether hopelessness and pessimism moderate the association between neighborhood characteristics and inflammation. Methods A sample of older non-Hispanic Black Americans aged 60+ were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 1004). Neighborhood characteristics included neighborhood physical disadvantage and neighborhood social cohesion. Inflammation was assessed by C-reactive protein. Results The analyses indicated that neighborhood physical disadvantage and social cohesion were not associated with C-reactive protein. Hopelessness and pessimism moderated the association between neighborhood physical disadvantage and C-reactive protein. Conclusions Knowledge regarding the role of hopelessness and pessimism as moderator in the neighborhood-inflammation association can inform cognitive-behavioral interventions targeted at changes in cognition patterns.