Immigration-Related Trauma Associated With Metabolic Risk and Cognition in Hispanic and Latino Immigrant Populations

Abstract Recent immigrant and undocumented Hispanic/Latino adults in the United States (U.S.) are an underserved segment of the aging population. In this cross-sectional pilot study, we examined associations between self-reported stressors metabolic syndrome, emotional reactivity, and cognitive functioning in a heterogenous sample (N=80) of Hispanic/Latino adults (43.8% Central America; 43.8% South America; 7.5% Caribbean; mean years in the U.S.=18.1, SD=12.8). Participants (Meducation=10.2 years, SD=5.34; Mage=48.6 years, SD=12.3) underwent blood draw, anthropometrics and NIH-toolbox cognitive and behavioral measures. Linear regressions indicated that, elevated glucose was inversely associated with working memory (r=-.30), whereas higher HDL and controlled glucose were associated with better episodic memory (r=.27) and executive functioning (r=.32). Results further revealed associations between immigration-related trauma and elevated posttraumatic stress symptomatology. Implications for mental health and early detection of modifiable risk factors to promote healthy aging in vulnerable Hispanic/Latino immigrant populations are discussed.

(5.19%). Foreign-born non-Hispanic whites had higher odds (OR=1.36; 95% CI=1.05-1.49) of cognitive limitations than their US-born counterparts. Foreign-born Hispanics with diabetes had greater odds of cognitive limitations (OR=1.91; 95% CI=1.63, 2.24) compared to US-born non-Hispanic whites. Additional findings will be discussed focused on stressors that may contribute to cognition disparities using the immigrant health paradox framework.

SLEEP AND COGNITION: RESULTS FROM A LONGITUDINAL COHORT OF OLDER PUERTO RICAN ADULTS Sandra Arevalo, California State University, Torrance California, United States
We examined cross-sectional and prospective associations of sleep duration and insomnia symptoms with measures of cognitive function among older adults aged 45-75 y from the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study, a longitudinal cohort of 1500 participants of Puerto Rican ancestry. We found, statistically significant cross-sectional associations of sleep duration (hours) and an executive function domain before (F=6.20; Prob>F=0.0001) and after (F=2.33; Prob>F=0.05) controlling for covariates (age, sex, education, smoking, drinking, mental and health conditions and medication use); between sleep duration and global cognition before (F=5.38; Prob>F=0.0003) and a trend after controlling for covariates (F=2.20; Prob>F=0.0669). In longitudinal associations, sleep duration (time2) was significantly associated with global condition at time3 (F=2.42; Prob>F=0.0475) after controlling for time2 global cognition. In conclusion, we found hours of sleep and insomnia symptoms significantly associated with various cognitive factors. A public health focus on sleep hygiene may improve cognitive health outcomes in older Puerto Rican adults.

GENERATING COMMUNITY ENGAGED LEARNING IN GERONTOLOGY COURSES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Katarina Felsted, and Samantha Whitehead, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
This presentation describes the core traits of a communityengaged learning (CEL course), how one gerontology program incorporated a theoretical framework to continue to provide students opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how generalizable this is across gerontology programs. Caregiving and Aging Families, a gerontology course enrolling both undergraduate and graduate students, champions community-engaged learning in two critical ways: students attend caregiver support groups in the community, and students form a partnership with a caregiver mentor in the community. This partnership allows students an intimate look at the caregiver's role and burden while enlisting the student to prepare a service care plan and compendium of resources for the caregiver. Ensuring the safety of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic placed restrictive parameters on these experiences. While students typically attend support groups and identify and partner with a caregiver mentor in person, this needed modification during the pandemic. This was created through the application of Baltes' Theory of Selection, Optimization, and Compensation (SOC model), aided by a CEL teaching assistant, funded through the campus Community Service Center. This allowed for identifying, coordinating, and communicating with community partners throughout the semester and provided ongoing communication, technical assistance, and problemsolving for both partners and students. Caregiver groups with a robust online, synchronous presence were identified and approached. The gerontology program communities of interest disseminated a call for community caregivers with basic technological familiarity. The caregiver mentor-student partnerships were founded and maintained, with additional benefits stemming from a shared pandemic experience.

GENERATION TO GENERATION PROJECT: PAIRING STUDENTS WITH OLDER ADULT MENTORS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Pamela Elfenbein, University of North Georgia, Gainesville, Georgia, United States
To meet the needs of older adults isolated in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we began pairing Human Services and Gerontology students with community dwelling adults 55 years of age and older, recruited through senior centers and other organizations serving older adults.
Students paired with isolated older adults were tasked with building supportive relationships, assuring that basic needs were being met and that all available community resources were in place, and then documenting their mentor's life stories with an emphasis on the resilience, strength and wisdom of their older adult mentors (to focus and build on their strengths, the older adults we engage with are referred to as our "mentors"). Oral histories and supporting artifacts are archived in the university's library permanent repository.
The oral histories portray unique perspectives into life, strength, and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine. The older adult mentors participating in the Generation to Generation project reported feeling strengthened and connected through their participation in the Generation to Generation project.
To determine if social Isolation and loneliness can be ameliorated through participation in the Generation to Generation oral history project, researchers utilized the UCLA Loneliness Scale in pre-and post-participation interviews; findings will be shared.