Internalized stress may be an overlooked driver of memory decline in aging populations.
Stress internalization may quietly accelerate memory loss in older Chinese Americans, according to new research from Rutgers Health. The findings highlight how emotional patterns, not just physical health, can shape how the brain ages.
Published in The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease, the study examined why some older adults experience faster cognitive decline than others. Researchers focused on Chinese Americans over age 60, a group that has received relatively little attention in aging and dementia research despite its rapid growth in the United States.
“With the number of older Asian Americans growing significantly, it’s vital to better understand the risk factors of memory decline in this understudied population,” said Michelle Chen, a core member of the Center for Healthy Aging Research in the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research and lead author of the study.
Cultural Pressures and Hidden Stress
Not all stress affects the brain in the same way. The researchers zeroed in on “stress internalization,” a pattern in which individuals absorb emotional strain rather than expressing or resolving it. Over time, this can contribute to persistent feelings such as hopelessness, which are increasingly linked to changes in brain function.
Cultural expectations may play a role. The model minority stereotype, which portrays Asian Americans as uniformly successful and resilient, can make it harder for individuals to acknowledge or seek help for emotional distress. For older immigrants, this pressure may be compounded by language barriers, social isolation, and the challenge of adapting to a different cultural environment.
“Stress and hopelessness may go unnoticed in aging populations, yet they play a critical role in how the brain ages,” said Chen, who is also an assistant professor of neurology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “Because these feelings are modifiable, our goal is for this research to inform culturally sensitive stress-reduction interventions to mitigate these feelings in older adults.”
Key Findings From Long-Term Data
The team analyzed information from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly (PINE), the largest community-based study of older Chinese Americans. The dataset includes interviews conducted from 2011 to 2017 with more than 1,500 participants living in the Chicago area.
The researchers examined three social and behavioral factors: stress internalization, neighborhood or community cohesion, and external stress relief.
Their analysis showed that stress internalization, defined as feelings of hopelessness or a tendency to absorb stress, was strongly linked to memory decline across three waves of the study. The other factors did not show a meaningful connection to changes in memory over time.
Reference: “Stress internalization is a top risk for age-associated cognitive decline among older Chinese in the U.S” by Michelle H Chen, Yiming Ma, Charu Verma, Stephanie Bergren and William T Hu, 18 July 2025, The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease.
DOI: 10.1016/j.tjpad.2025.100270
This study was supported by the Rutgers-NYU Resource Center for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Research in Asian and Pacific Americans, co-led by William Hu of Rutgers Institute for Health and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Coauthors of the study include Yiming Ma, Charu Verma, Stephanie Bergren and William Hu of Rutgers Institute for Health.
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2 Comments
Sonic the hedgehog
Myself having a family history of dementia by 1990, statistically, following the US FDA approval of the expanded use of added monosodium glutamate (MSG) as a “flavor enhancer,” in 1980, the US dementia epidemic presented by 1990 (CDC data). While Asian elderly seem more likely to ingest inordinate amounts of added MSG than non-Asian elderly, a quick scan of the article in the “Re:” lines above and the reference article for “diet” suggests the researchers gave little to no consideration of diet as being relevant. While statistics are not “proof” of cause and effect, if in fact added MSG is causing cognitive decline in the subject population, then to exclude that factor in that and/or future studies is to deprive many among that population of the opportunity to mitigate their risk of early cognitive decline with simple dietary changes.