Three latent classes of memory trajectories best represented the two cohorts.

Similarities and differences in predictors for low vs. high memory class.

Differential risk predictor findings across racial and ethnic groups and cohorts.

Differences in lifestyle factors contribute towards inequalities in dementia incidence and memory trajectories across racial and ethnic groups. We identifieded lifestyle risk factors that best discriminat memory trajectories in older adults without cognitive impairment.

The study included 523 older adults from the University of California, Davis–Alzheimer’s disease Research Center and 1097 from the Kaiser Healthy-Aging and Diverse Life-Experiences Study. Age, sex, and 13 lifestyle risk factors were used to discriminate latent class memory trajectories in African Americans, Hispanics, and Whites. Structural equation modeling and machine learning methods were applied.

In both cohorts, three patterns of memory trajectories were identified. While there was overlap between risk factors discriminating high and low memory patterns for everyone, we also identified key differences in the top predictors across groups in both cohorts.

Identifying relative importance of lifestyle risk factors will promote early identification of adults with differential memory performance across and within racial and ethnic groups.

Lifestyle risk factors

Ethnicity

Memory

Latent class analysis

Machine learning

KHANDLE

© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.