Returns to Educational and Occupational Attainment in Cognitive Performance for Middle-Aged South Korean Men and Women

Abstract

Background: Gender differences in late middle-age cognitive performance may be explained by differences in educational or occupational attainment rates, or gender-patterned returns of similar education and occupation to cognitive reserve. We tested these competing hypotheses in the historically highly gender unequal context of South Korea. Methods: Data came from the 2006 wave of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. We included adults aged 45–65 years. Using quantile regression decompositions, we decomposed cognitive performance differences across quantiles into differences due to rates of educational and occupational attainment and differences due to divergent returns to those characteristics. Results: Gender-based cognitive performance differences across deciles were driven by differences in rates of educational and occupational attainment, while the returns to these characteristics were similar for both genders. Conclusions: Findings suggest that educational and occupational characteristics contribute to cognitive performance similarly in men and women, but discordant rates of these characteristics contribute to performance gaps.

The Association between Education and Cognitive Performance Varies at Different Levels of Cognitive Performance: A Quantile Regression Approach

“…MMSE is a commonly used clinical screening tool for dementia, but it may lack sensitivity to milder cognitive deficits due to ceiling effects, particularly in individuals with higher education levels [36]. Therefore, the lack of association between education and MMSE at higher levels of MMSE may be a result of such ceiling effects, which were also noted by Ford and Leist [11]. Additionally, as discussed above, the sample in our study was relatively young (aged 58–68), and in these ages, few persons have experienced cognitive decline to the point of scoring in the lower half of the MMSE scale.…”

“…While the average effect of an exposure on an outcome can be a useful metric, it provides limited information of how the effect of an exposure might differ across various levels of the outcome. Recent studies have indicated that educational differences in cognitive performance among younger people [ 10 ] and adults [ 11 ] may vary at different levels of performance distribution, with larger differences found at low levels of performance. If these findings translate to older adults, the seemingly protective effect of education on cognitive aging could be weak or even nonexistent for persons with higher cognitive performance.…”

“…The limitations of the mean effects have previously been highlighted in prior studies from various research fields, such as the association between education and BMI [ 21 , 22 ] and the motherhood wage-penalty [ 23 ]. Recently, Ford and Leist [ 11 ] showed that income and educational differences in the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were larger at the bottom of MMSE distribution. Considering heterogeneity in cognitive performance across different educational groups is essential for several reasons.…”

The Bar-On Model and Multifactor Measure of Human Performance: Validation and Application

“…Educational performance in school is associated with learning new tasks, recalling what is important and useful, and solving problems. Occupational performance involves leaning how to acquire efficient work habits, strategies and expertise to apply throughout one’s career ( Ford and Leist, 2021 ).…”