Date of Conferral
2-6-2024
Date of Award
February 2024
Degree
Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)
School
Public Health
Advisor
Srikanta Banerjee
Abstract
Dementia, the loss of cognitive acuity is an umbrella term of neuro-degenerative symptoms that impact an estimated 6.5 million Americans, and amid heart disease, cancers, and emerging viruses, such as COVID-19, has reportedly increased in prevalence. A cross-sectional study of secondary data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) was conducted to analyze minority and non-heterosexual experiences of health risks found higher in prior studies of distress rates in LGBTQ+ adults. The socio-ecological framework was used to interpret the competing ecologies of social health determinants in natural and social settings. Literature reviews on cognitive dysfunction and other vascular conditions were formed into a matrix of the physical, relational, and behavioral factors of cognitive-related illnesses. Multiple logistic regression was used to address whether cognitive disease and coronary heart disease were associated while controlling for covariates in 14,332 cases from 30 geographic regions. Results showed that cognitive diseases and coronary heart diseases (OR = 1.01; p = 0.69), and cognitive dysfunction and myocardial infarction (OR = 1.64; p = 0.18) were not statistically associated after adjusting for demographic variables such as age, gender, poverty-income-ratio, and ethnicity. Designed by the conditional disparities between communities demographically isolated, an opportunity for positive social change is found in the ability to evaluate health influencers of cognitive decline to stabilize personal and population health. Identifying health costs, supportive care needs, and varying levels of health identity necessary to sustain a modeled response to rising cognitive impairments.
Recommended Citation
De Shields, Nathan G., "The Association Between Cognitive Dysfunctions and Cardiovascular Disease of Minority and LGBTQ+ Communities in the United States" (2024). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 15535.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/15535
