Evaluating Social Determinants of Health Domains and Their Predictive Validity Within Black/African American and White Older Adults From the Active Trial

Abstract

Objective

To assess domains of social determinants of health (SDoH) and their associations with cognition and quality of life.

Method

This investigation uses baseline data from individuals participating in the ACTIVE trial ( n = 2505) to reproduce the SDoH domains described in Healthy People 2030 (economic stability, health care, education, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context). Results: Results support using data from the ACTIVE trial to assess all five SDoH domains, and the ability of the composites to predict baseline performance on measures of cognition and self-reported quality of life within a sample of older adults. Additionally, higher SDoH domain scores were associated with better functioning on composite measures of cognition and higher scores for mental and physical health-related quality of life with Access to Healthcare associated with all outcomes. Discussion: These findings can inform investigators interested in assessing multiple domains of SDoH and highlight the importance of access to health care within older Black/African American and White older adults.