Historically Black College or University Attendance and Cognition in US Black Adults

Is attending a historically Black college or university (HBCU) vs a predominantly White institution (PWI) associated with later-life cognitive health for Black adults in the US?In this cohort study of 1978 Black college-goers who were college-aged circa 1940 to 1980, HBCU attendance was associated with better -scored memory, language, and global cognition compared with PWI attendance.These findings suggest HBCU attendance may have long-term cognitive benefits for Black adults that are robust to historical and ongoing inequities resulting from racialized education policies.

Corresponding Author: Marilyn D. Thomas, PhD, MPH, School of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, 550 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94158 (marilyn.thomas@ucsf.edu).

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