Geropsychology: The Gender Gap in Human Aging – A Mini-Review

Kryspin-Exner, Ilse; Lamplmayr, Elisabeth; Felnhofer, Anna

doi:10.1159/000323154

Cited by 29 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…These results extend what is known from previous gender research. For example, there is evidence that men lose grey matter volume more rapidly with age than women, especially in fronto-temporal regions [47]; this in turn may lead to a faster rate of decline in cognitive function, fitting the pattern we see here in the reasoning domain. In contrast, women are thought to have better verbal processing than men; however we see the opposite here, with men reaching a higher peak score than women.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Cognition across the lifespan: age, gender, and sociodemographic influences

Nichols

Wild

Owen

et al. 2019

Preprint

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22 Maintaining cognitive health across the lifespan has been the focus of a multi-billion-dollar industry.23 In order to guide treatment and interventions, a clear understanding of the way that proficiency in 24 different cognitive domains develops and declines across the lifespan is necessary. Additionally, there 25 are gender differences in a range of other factors, such as anxiety and substance use, that are also 26 known to affect cognition, although the scale of this interaction is unknown. Our objective was to 27 assess differences in cognitive function across the lifespan in men and women in a large, 28 representative sample. Over 45,000 individuals were tested on 12 cognitive tasks. Segmented 29 regression was used to model the trajectory of three cognitive domains: short-term memory, verbal 30 abilities, and reasoning. Each domain showed a unique trajectory, suggesting that not all cognitive 31 abilities develop and decline in the same way. Gender differences were found in all three domains; 32 however, after controlling for socio-demographic factors, these differences were greatly reduced or 33 disappeared. These results suggest that the trajectory of cognition across the lifespan differs for men 34 and women, but is greatly influenced by environmental factors. We discuss these findings within a 35 framework that describes gender differences in cognition as likely guided by a complex interplay 36 between biology and environment. 37 38 Introduction 39By 2020, roughly 22% of the world's population will be over 65, a total of approximately 1.7 40 billion people [1]. The consequences of our aging population are many, including an increasing focus 41 on maintaining cognitive health; more so than ever before, individuals are seeking ways to keep their 3 42 minds sharp. This new interest in maintaining cognitive health and reversing, or stalling, normal 43 cognitive decline has led to the creation of billion-dollar industry, promoting products as wide-ranging 44 as "brain training" software and pharmaceutical interventions such as nootropics. Yet, in order to be 45 able to evaluate these approaches as potential tools and treatments, it is important that we first have 46 a clear understanding of how cognition changes across the lifespan in average, healthy individuals.47 Additionally, because of the often-cited cognitive differences between women and men [2-5], it is 48 important to characterize cognition in each population; if gender differences in cognitive abilities do 49 exist, then men and women may respond differently to cognitive aging interventions. 50In healthy individuals, cognitive abilities develop rapidly throughout childhood. By six, most 51 children have developed some degree of inhibitory control, verbal fluency, and task switching [6-8].52 By twelve, they are able to plan and organize, and use conceptual strategies and reasoning [9]. In 53 adolescence, these abilities continue to develop, with most teenagers having good attentional 54 control, verbal fluency, and processing speed [6]. By 18, ex...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Cognition across the lifespan: age, gender, and sociodemographic influences

Nichols

Wild

Owen

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Behavioral and morphological data are derived from different animals, and thus, causal model statistics cannot be applied (Lazic,2012). However, our findings will facilitate future studies investigating gender effects in senescence, an effect that is well described in humans (Kryspin‐Exner et al,2011) but has received little attention in animal models.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 69%

Sustained hippocampal neurogenesis in females is amplified in P66^Shc−/− mice: An animal model of healthy aging

et al. 2012

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Aging is accompanied by poor learning and memory abilities and by decreased hippocampal neurogenesis, a process that is also modulated by oxidative stress (OS). P66(Shc) has recently emerged as a novel mammalian gerontogene able to affect healthspan during aging. Deletion of this gene in mice leads to reduced OS accompanied by decreased incidence of age-related pathologies and reduced signs of behavioral aging. We hypothesized that p66(Shc-/-) mutants might show increased neurogenesis in the hippocampus, a brain region involved in learning and memory processes. To this aim, granule cell number, proliferation, neuronal differentiation, and cell death were assessed in the hippocampus in senescent p66(Shc-/-) [knock out (KO)] and p66(Shc+/+) [wild type (WT)] male and female mice. Spatial learning abilities and spontaneous activity were also investigated in a multifunctional behavioral system-IntelliCages. The behavioral analysis revealed that females in general perform better in spatial learning tasks, with genotype effects being apparent in the activity pattern only. Likewise, all females showed increased neuronal differentiation, whereas increased proliferation was found only in those belonging to the p66(Shc-/-) genotype, indicating that they might be protected from precursor cell loss. The number of dying cells was not affected by genotype or sex; however, all KO mice showed less granule cells than WT. Overall, our data suggest that hippocampal function is protected in the female gender at older age, an effect amplified by reduced OS in the p66(Shc-/-) mutant.

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“…How do the different ecologies or “aging spaces” we inhabit—constructed and reflected by communication about age‐related issues—affect these trajectories? New and larger samples would also help us understand how gender (Kryspin‐Exner, Lamplmayr, & Felnhofer, ), cultural (Pecchioni, Ota, & Sparks, ), and even subcultural factors such as sexual orientation (Hajek & Giles, ) may moderate relationships posited by the CEMSA.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Does Successful Aging Sound Like? Profiling Communication About Aging

2015

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We draw on the recently developed communicative ecology model of successful aging (CEMSA) to examine how adults communicate about aging and how these communication patterns relate to experiences of successful aging. Using latent class analysis across 2 datasets collected in New Zealand and the United States, we identify 3 distinct classes of agers (disengaged, engaged, and bantering) defined by different profiles of communication behavior. Across samples, an engaged profile was generally associated with the most positive experiences of aging, whereas a disengaged profile was associated with the least positive experiences, although these differences were surprisingly small. Our results highlight the diverse ways in which individuals communicatively engage with the process of aging and experience aging as positive and successful.

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Geropsychology: The Gender Gap in Human Aging – A Mini-Review

Cited by 29 publications

References 68 publications

Cognition across the lifespan: age, gender, and sociodemographic influences

Cognition across the lifespan: age, gender, and sociodemographic influences

Sustained hippocampal neurogenesis in females is amplified in P66^Shc−/− mice: An animal model of healthy aging

What Does Successful Aging Sound Like? Profiling Communication About Aging

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Geropsychology: The Gender Gap in Human Aging – A Mini-Review

Cited by 29 publications

References 68 publications

Cognition across the lifespan: age, gender, and sociodemographic influences

Cognition across the lifespan: age, gender, and sociodemographic influences

Sustained hippocampal neurogenesis in females is amplified in P66Shc−/− mice: An animal model of healthy aging

What Does Successful Aging Sound Like? Profiling Communication About Aging

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Product

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Sustained hippocampal neurogenesis in females is amplified in P66^Shc−/− mice: An animal model of healthy aging