Early-life educational quality and literacy in late life explain a substantial portion of race-related disparities in late-life cognitive function.

The current study investigated the effect of video game training on older adult’s useful field of view performance (the UFOV® test). Fifty-eight older adult participants were randomized to receive practice with the target action game (Medal of Honor), a placebo control arcade game (Tetris), a clinically validated UFOV training program, or into a no contact control group. Examining pretest–posttest change in selective visual attention, the UFOV improved significantly more than the game groups; all three intervention groups improved significantly more than no-contact controls. There was a lack of difference between the two game conditions, differing from findings with younger adults. Discussion considers whether games posing less challenge might still be effective interventions for elders, and whether optimal training dosages should be higher.

OBJECTIVES Diabetes may raise dementia risk. However, the pattern of cognitive change over time in non-demented older adults with diabetes, including the onset of cognitive decline, is unclear. We examined the association of diabetes and cognitive functioning at baseline and cognitive change over time in a large, ethnically diverse sample of older adults. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP), a community-based, prospective study of risk factors for dementia. PARTICIPANTS 1,493 met both inclusion and exclusion criteria for this study. MEASUREMENTS Participants underwent baseline and follow-up cognitive and health assessments approximately every 18 months. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the longitudinal association between diabetes and cognition. RESULTS Diabetes was associated with poorer baseline cognitive performance in memory, language, processing speed/executive functioning, and visuospatial abilities. After adjusting for age, education, sex, race/ethnicity, and apolipoprotein-ε4, participants with diabetes performed significantly worse at baseline relative to those without diabetes in language and visuospatial abilities. There were no differences between those with and without diabetes in terms of rate of cognitive change over a mean follow-up time of six years. CONCLUSION The rate of cognitive change in elderly persons with and without diabetes is similar, although cognitive performance is lower in persons with diabetes. Our findings suggest that cognitive changes may occur early during the diabetes process and highlight the need for studies to follow participants beginning at least in midlife, prior to the typical later-life onset of dementia.

OBJECTIVE Better performance due to repeated testing can bias long-term trajectories of cognitive aging and correlates of change. We examined whether retest effects differ as a function of individual differences pertinent to cognitive aging: race/ethnicity, age, sex, language, years of education, and dementia risk factors including APOE ε4 status, baseline cognitive performance, and cardiovascular risk. METHOD We used data from the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project, a community-based cohort of older adults (n=4,073). We modeled cognitive change and retest effects in summary factors for general cognitive performance, memory, executive functioning, and language using multilevel models. Retest effects were parameterized in two ways, as improvement between the first and subsequent testings, and as the square root of the number of prior testings. We evaluated whether the retest effect differed by individual characteristics. RESULTS The mean retest effect for general cognitive performance was 0.60 standard deviations (95%CI: 0.46, 0.74), and was similar for memory, executive functioning, and language. Retest effects were greater for participants in the lowest quartile of cognitive performance, consistent with regression to the mean. Retest did not differ by other characteristics. CONCLUSIONS Retest effects are large in this community-based sample, but do not vary by demographic or dementia-related characteristics. Differential retest effects may not limit the generalizability of inferences across different groups in longitudinal research.

Objectives The current study investigated older adults’ level of engagement with a video game training program. Engagement was measured using the concept of Flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). Methods Forty-five older adults were randomized to receive practice with an action game (Medal of Honor), a puzzle-like game (Tetris), or a gold-standard Useful Field of View (UFOV) training program. Results Both Medal of Honor and Tetris participants reported significantly higher Flow ratings at the conclusion, relative to the onset of training. Discussion Participants are more engaged in games that can be adjusted to their skill levels and that provide incremental levels of difficulty. This finding was consistent with the Flow theory (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975)

Low neighborhood-level socioeconomic status has been associated with poorer health, reduced physical activity, increased psychological stress, and less neighborhood-based social support. These outcomes are correlates of late life cognition, but few studies have specifically investigated the neighborhood as a unique source of explanatory variance in cognitive aging. This study supplemented baseline cognitive data from the ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly) study with neighborhood-level data to investigate (1) whether neighborhood socioeconomic position (SEP) predicts cognitive level, and if so, whether it differentially predicts performance in general and specific domains of cognition and (2) whether neighborhood SEP predicts differences in response to short-term cognitive intervention for memory, reasoning, or processing speed. Neighborhood SEP positively predicted vocabulary, but did not predict other general or specific measures of cognitive level, and did not predict individual differences in response to cognitive intervention.

We examined the influence of neighborhood socioeconomic position (SEP), racial/ethnic composition, and living in a major city on cognitive trajectories and intervention outcomes. Data came from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study (N = 2,438). Mixed effects analyses examined associations between neighborhood variables and memory, reasoning, speed of processing, and everyday cognition, estimating differences in initial gains (potentially related to practice) and long-term rate of change over 10 years. The effect of reasoning training on initial gain was weaker for individuals in a major city. For everyday cognition, there was a stronger initial gain for memory-trained and control participants in areas with more racial/ethnic minorities, and for speed-trained and control individuals in higher SEP areas. The racial/ethnic minority effect was no longer significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Neighborhood factors may be more important in practice-related improvement than in long-term change.

Objective Health literacy is critical for understanding information from health‐care providers and correct use of medications and includes the capacity to filter other information in navigating health care systems. Older adults with low health literacy exhibit more chronic health conditions, worse physical functioning, and poorer mental health. This study examined the relationship between sociodemographic variables and health literacy, and the impact of cognitive training on change in health literacy over 10 years in older adults. Methods Participants (N = 2,802) aged 65 years and older completed assessments, including reading and numeracy health literacy items, as part of the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study. We evaluated baseline sociodemographic variables and change in health literacy over a 10‐year period in individuals exposed to cognitive training in reasoning, processing speed, memory, or a no‐contact control condition. Results Age, sex, race, education level, and general cognitive functioning at baseline were all associated with baseline health literacy in older adults. Predictors of change in health literacy over the 10‐year follow‐up were age, race, education level, general cognitive functioning, and neighborhood income; disparities in health literacy because of race attenuated over time, while the effect of age increased over time. Health literacy was generally stable across the ACTIVE intervention groups over 10 years. Conclusions The present study showed important disparities in health literacy level and change over 10 years. Cognitive training did not significantly impact health literacy, suggesting that alternative approaches are needed to reduce the disparities.