Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Stress is a known risk factor for adverse cognitive outcomes; however, it remains unclear whether race/ethnicity is a moderating factor in the stress-cognition connection. In addition, the mechanisms underlying the influence of stress on learning and memory is an area of growing research, particularly among Hispanic/Latino individuals. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between perceived stress, cardiometabolic risk, and learning and memory among matched Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic White individuals. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were obtained from the MindCrowd longitudinal observational online study from Hispanic/Latino (n = 91) and age, sex, and education matched non-Hispanic White adults (n = 95). Participants completed the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale and an online measure of learning and memory, the paired associates learning task. Linear regression models were built to investigate the effects of perceived stress, cardiometabolic risk and race/ethnicity on paired associates learning scores. Mediation between perceived stress and paired associates learning through cardiometabolic risk was tested. RESULTS: We found an inverse association between perceived stress and PAL scores among both Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic White groups (b = -.08, SE = .03, p = .007). The association between perceived stress and PAL scores was partially mediated by cardiometabolic risk (b = -.01, SE = .008, 95% CI [-.03, -.001]). The associations between perceived stress, cardiometabolic risk, and PAL scores did not differ by race/ethnicity (ps > .05). A mediation model moderated by race/ethnicity indicated no difference in the cardiometabolic risk mediation between perceived stress and PAL (b = .007, SE = .01, 95% CI [-.02, .03]). CONCLUSION: Perceived stress is a risk factor for poorer paired associates learning scores among Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic White individuals. Cardiometabolic risk accounted for some of the association between perceived stress and paired associates learning performance. Further investigation is needed to better understand the complex mechanisms underlying stress-cognition associations among ethnically diverse samples.