Social engagement, health outcomes, and the immigrant experience all come together in the research conducted by Dr. Fengyan Tang. Her recent work, funded by the National Institute on Aging, focuses on aging Chinese immigrants in the US to examine how social and physical environments impact their health—particularly cognitive health. Tang aims to address health disparities and advance social justice by investigating the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, social class, and immigration.
“I think health disparities rooted in social determinants of health are an important issue but challenging to address in the U.S.,” says Tang. “For example, residential or racial segregation has different impacts on people from various backgrounds. From a minority perspective, it’s crucial to know how to be socially integrated and utilize individual and social resources to promote healthy aging. Older immigrants may face challenges of language barriers, cultural differences, and limited social networks. They may not know how to access healthcare and social resources. It’s critical to help them connect with the community, neighborhood, and broader society, so they can age in place happily and healthily.”
Tang’s most recent study titled Preventing Cognitive Decline and Dementia Among Older Chinese focuses on older Chinese Americans, a population that is projected to triple from 0.5 million in 2020 to 1.5 million by 2060. Older Chinese Americans face unique risks for cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD), largely driven by structural and social determinants of health, including language and system barriers, acculturative stress, discrimination, and increased social isolation and loneliness. This study investigates various immigration- and neighborhood-related risks and the potentially preventive effects of activity engagement profiles (AEP) on cognitive decline.
The rising burden of ADRD and the rapid growth of older Chinese American population call for the need for population-based health interventions. Guided by community-based participatory research principles, Tang has collaborated with a research team and over 20 community-based organizations and social service agencies in the greater Chicago area in data collection. Specifically, her study aims to:
- Examine individual- and neighborhood-level risk factors of cognitive impairment and decline
- Identify supportive environments that promote healthy cognitive aging
- Evaluate whether activity engagement and other modifiable factors mitigate the risk of cognitive decline.
Findings from this research are expected to inform activity-based intervention strategies for ADRD and the development of supportive environments to promote cognitive health in this understudied population. The analyses revealed that higher levels of social engagement and social support are associated with better initial cognitive functioning. Residing in a neighborhood with higher socioeconomic status may slow cognitive decline over time, and living in a neighborhood with more English-only speakers boosted the protective effects of neighborhood socioeconomic status on cognitive decline.
Tang’s upcoming project will compare aging Chinese immigrants in the U.S. with their peers in China. This comparison will explore the structural and social determinants of health to understand how socioeconomic and political contexts shape social stratification and health outcomes. She acknowledges the challenges of obtaining comparable data due to cultural differences. “It’s difficult to measure because they’re living in different cultures. They have similar genetic factors because they’re from the same ethnic group, but the question is whether living in different countries affects their long-term cognitive health—or even overall health. How do environmental and cultural changes impact them?” she asks.
Tang’s work underscores the importance of addressing health disparities and supporting aging immigrant populations.