Memory trajectories before and after a negative wealth shock, the United States Health and Retirement Study, 1998-2020

The potential for a bidirectional relationship between the experience of a negative wealth shock (a loss of ≥75% in total household wealth over 2 years) and accelerated memory decline among mid-to-later-life adults in the United States (US) remains unclear. We used population-based longitudinal data on 14 969 adults aged ≥51 in the US Health and Retirement Study from 1998 to 2020. One in 3 participants in this cohort experienced a negative wealth shock over the 22-year follow-up period (5184/14969, 34.6%). Participants who experienced a negative wealth shock had faster aging-related memory decline in the years before the shock than their counterparts who did not experience a negative wealth shock (an additional 0.04 standard deviation [SD] units per decade; 95% CI, -0.07 to -0.01) and an acute drop in their level of memory function concurrent with the negative wealth shock (-0.08 SD units; 95% CI, -0.10 to -0.05), yet slower memory aging after the negative wealth shock (0.04 SD units per decade; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.06). We recommend strategies to support healthy memory aging of the large share of middle-aged and older US adults who are at risk of experiencing a negative wealth shock.