Attending a historically Black college or university as a young adult may provide long-term cognitive health benefits for Black adults, according to a new study led by Marilyn D. Thomas, assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
With her co-authors from Rutgers University in New Jersey, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Columbia University, Boston University, and Harvard University, Dr. Thomas reviewed data on memory, language, and global cognition among 1,978 Black adults who went to college between 1940 and 1980 and who attended a high school in a state with an HBCU. Over a third (35.3 percent) of participants attended an HBCU. At age 62, Black adults who had gone to an HBCU had better memory and cognitive function than their counterparts who attended a predominantly White institution.
“[Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias] risk is influenced by social and institutional environments, particularly educational experiences,” said Dr. Thomas. “Our findings are important because they suggest that culturally affirming college experiences matter over the life course, and that these experiences may be robust to various forms of prejudice and discrimination. Because Black HBCU students report lower racial stress, a greater sense of belonging, stronger connections to faculty and social groups, and better academic achievements, HBCU experiences likely improve early life cognitive engagement, social networks, and economic opportunities which, in turn, contributes to better access to health-promoting resources, social support, and economic security in later life and lower risk of cognitive impairment.”
Dr. Thomas received her bachelor’s degree in microbiology and her master of public health degree from San Francisco State University. She earned her Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley.
