Harsh life experiences appear to leave African-Americans vulnerable to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, researchers reported Sunday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London. Several teams presented evidence that poverty, disadvantage and stressful life events are strongly associated with cognitive problems in middle age and dementia later in life among African-Americans.
I grew up on the brink of poverty in Baltimore and the Bronx during the ’80s and ’90s. I remember those streets you couldn’t pass through after dark, navigating them at a dead sprint, trying to get home safely and without getting in trouble with my mom. Living in a chronically neglected community felt like living in a state of constant siege. Poverty is a horrible, bedeviling force that invades and infects every aspect of our lives and communities – our homes, our pantries, our schools, our careers, and our health. More than a half century ago…
If you were to ask a group of Americans to pinpoint poverty in this country, a good many would tell you you to turn a watchful eye to the inner-city blocks. Perhaps others would suggest you look at the isolated valleys of rural Appalachian coal mining towns. But few would point you to the suburbs, our country’s neatly manicured, leafy green mazes of driveways and cul-de-sacs. That’s a shame; it’s this very misperception that makes the issue so pernicious.