Height, aging and cognitive abilities across Europe

Cognitive functioning among poor elderly persons: evidence from Peru

“…This result is similar to that of Guven and Lee (2015), who also find a negative association between being male and cognitive functioning (for verbal fluency, immediate and delayed recall and a summary cognitive score, but not for numeracy) in a sample of elderly Europeans. In addition, cognition increases by 0.25 points for individuals living in urban areas, which is about half the size of the coefficient of retirement.…”

Adult height, nutrition, and population health

“…153,154 A recent study found that height among adults aged 50 years or older was positively associated with cognitive ability (measured as a summary score of memory, numeracy, and verbal fluency) even after adjustment for an extensive set of controls. 155 This study also provided some evidence of an association between height and cognitive ability across countries for pre-1950 birth cohort respondents; moreover, taller height was associated with smaller decreases in age-related cognitive function. Another study in the urban elderly in Latin America and the Caribbean found a positive association between height and later-life cognition, and this association was stronger among women than among men.…”

The dynamics of health and its determinants among the elderly in developing countries

“…Case et al (2005) show that respondent's weight at birth is strongly associated with poor general health in adulthood, with the correlation becoming larger as people age. Guven and Lee (2013) use adult height as a proxy for childhood health and find a positive association with cognitive functioning at older ages. Height might not be a good indicator for childhood health since it shrinks as people age, and the shrinkage might be correlated with health deterioration.…”