Ageism and Health Behaviors Implicated in Dementia

Ageism is a pernicious psychosocial predictor of health among older adults. It is associated with poorer health across several health domains including mortality (Chang et al., 2020; Kang & Kim, 2022). However, behavioral mechanisms that underlie long-term outcomes remain understudied. This is highly relevant given physical activity, alcohol use, sleep, and diet are predictors of cognitive decline (Hendriks et al., 2024; Livingston et al., 2020). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the effect of ageism on the aforementioned health behaviors.