Socioeconomic Status Across the Life Course and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults

Lyu, Jiyoung; Burr, Jeffrey A.

doi:10.1177/0898264315585504

Cited by 163 publications

(158 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The attenuated effect sizes for the monozygotic twins compared with the dizygotic twins further strengthened these conclusions. The findings in this study challenge the causality of the association between childhood social class and cognitive abilities found in previous research (4,14,18,19). Kendler et al (11) found evidence of both genetic and environmental influences on early adult (age 18 y) cognitive performance in their study of home-reared and adopted-away siblings.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 39%

Childhood social class and cognitive aging in the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging

Ericsson

Lundholm

Fors

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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In this report we analyzed genetically informative data to investigate within-person change and between-person differences in late-life cognitive abilities as a function of childhood social class. We used data from nine testing occasions spanning 28 y in the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging and parental social class based on the Swedish socioeconomic index. Cognitive ability included a general factor and the four domains of verbal, fluid, memory, and perceptual speed. Latent growth curve models of the longitudinal data tested whether level and change in cognitive performance differed as a function of childhood social class. Between-within twin-pair analyses were performed on twins reared apart to assess familial confounding. Childhood social class was significantly associated with mean-level cognitive performance at age 65 y, but not with rate of cognitive change. The association decreased in magnitude but remained significant after adjustments for level of education and the degree to which the rearing family was supportive toward education. A between-pair effect of childhood social class was significant in all cognitive domains, whereas within-pair estimates were attenuated, indicating genetic confounding. Thus, childhood social class is important for cognitive performance in adulthood on a population level, but the association is largely attributable to genetic influences. childhood social class | cognitive aging | adoption | twins

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 39%

Childhood social class and cognitive aging in the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging

Ericsson

Lundholm

Fors

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…The index included measures of parent's education (1 = 8 or more years of education; 0 = otherwise), father's occupation (1 = white-collar occupation; 0 = otherwise), and financial well-being at childhood (1 = average or well-off; 0 = poor). Respondents who had missing data on parent's education and father's occupation were coded as 0 based on preliminary analyses showing that respondents in this category had similar characteristics with respondents in the lowest category [8]. After the childhood SES index was created, it was dichotomized at the median (1 = above median; 0 = at or below the median).…”

Section: Independent Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Childhood SES was ascertained with four retrospective questionnaire items: father's education, mother's education, father's occupation, and family financial well-being during childhood [8]. Father's education and mother's education variables were based on a set of dichotomous measures from respondent's self-report of parent's educational attainment (eight or more years of education (reference), less than eight years of education, and missing).…”

Section: Independent Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cumulative SES was measured with an index that combined childhood SES variables with respondent's education, and household income at baseline [8]. The first step was to create a childhood SES index based on the average of the four childhood SES items for each respondent: father's education, mother's education, father's occupation, and financial wellbeing at childhood.…”

Section: Independent Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Blue-collar occupations included all other types of jobs. A set of dichotomous variables capturing financial well-being during childhood was based on a question asking respondents to rate their financial wellbeing from birth to age 16 (poor (reference), about average, and pretty well-off) [8]. Although there are other childhood SES indicators in the HRS data file, this study included the above four items to be consistent with the available adult SES measures, to compare with previous research, and to allow for the estimation of a cumulative SES measure (see below).…”

Section: Independent Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gender Differences in the Association between Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Cognitive Function in Later Life

Lyu¹

2015

Journal of Geriatrics

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Objectives. This study was aimed to explore the gender differences in the association between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and cognitive function in later life. Methods. Using a nationally representative sample from the Health and Retirement Study, 5,544 females and 3,863 males were analyzed separately. Growth curve models were used to examine memory status and change in memory from 1998 to 2010. Results. The results showed that SES disadvantage in childhood was associated with lower memory at baseline controlling for adult SES and other covariates. In addition, cumulated disadvantage in SES was associated with poor memory in both genders. Statistically, the impact of cumulative SES on memory function at baseline was significantly different by gender. Discussion. These findings suggest that childhood SES has long-term effects on cognitive function among both men and women, and cumulative SES from childhood to adulthood may be more important for men than women with respect to their memory performance.

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Brain Aging Among Racially and Ethnically Diverse Middle-Aged and Older Adults

et al. 2023

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ImportanceNeuroimaging studies have documented racial and ethnic disparities in brain health in old age. It remains unclear whether these disparities are apparent in midlife.ObjectiveTo assess racial and ethnic disparities in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers of cerebrovascular disease and neurodegeneration in midlife and late life.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsData from 2 community-based cohort studies, Washington Heights–Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP) and the Offspring Study of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Alzheimer Disease (Offspring), were used. Enrollment took place from March 2011 and June 2017, in WHICAP and Offspring, respectively, to January 2021. Of the 822 Offspring and 1254 WHICAP participants approached for MRI scanning, 285 and 176 refused participation in MRI scanning, 36 and 76 were excluded for contraindications/ineligibility, and 4 and 32 were excluded for missing key variables, respectively.Main Outcomes and MeasuresCortical thickness in Alzheimer disease–related regions, white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume.ResultsThe final sample included 1467 participants. Offspring participants (497 [33.9%]) had a mean (SD) age of 55 (10.7) years, had a mean (SD) of 13 (3.5) years of education, and included 117 Black individuals (23.5%), 348 Latinx individuals (70%), 32 White individuals (6.4%), and 324 women (65.2%). WHICAP participants (970 [66.1%]) had a mean (SD) age of 75 (6.5) years, had a mean (SD) of 12 (4.7) years of education, and included 338 Black individuals (34.8%), 389 Latinx individuals (40.1%), 243 White individuals (25.1%), and 589 women (65.2%). Racial and ethnic disparities in cerebrovascular disease were observed in both midlife (Black-White: B = 0.357; 95% CI, 0.708-0.007; P = .046) and late life (Black-Latinx: B = 0.149, 95% CI, 0.068-0.231; P &lt; .001; Black-White: B = 0.166; 95% CI, 0.254-0.077; P &lt; .001), while disparities in cortical thickness were evident in late life only (Black-Latinx: B = −0.037; 95% CI, −0.055 to −0.019; P &lt; .001; Black-White: B = −0.064; 95% CI −0.044 to −0.084; P &lt; .001). Overall, Black-White disparities were larger than Latinx-White disparities for cortical thickness and WMH volume. Brain aging, or the association of age with MRI measures, was greater in late life compared with midlife for Latinx (cortical thickness: B = 0.006; 95% CI, 0.004-0.008; P &lt; .001; WMH volume: B = −0.010; 95% CI, −0.018 to −0.001; P = .03) and White (cortical thickness: B = 0.005; 95% CI, 0.002-0.008; P = .001; WMH volume: B = −0.021; 95% CI −0.043 to 0.002; P = .07) participants but not Black participants (cortical thickness: B = 0.001; 95% CI, −0.002 to 0.004; P =.64; WMH volume: B = 0.003; 95% CI, −0.010 to 0.017; P = .61), who evidenced a similarly strong association between age and MRI measures in midlife and late life.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this study, racial and ethnic disparities in small vessel cerebrovascular disease were apparent in midlife. In Latinx and White adults, brain aging was more pronounced in late life than midlife, whereas Black adults showed accelerated pattern of brain aging beginning in midlife.

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Socioeconomic Status Across the Life Course and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults

Abstract: Childhood SES and adult SES both had relationships with cognitive status and, to a lesser degree, change in cognition in later life.

Cited by 163 publications

References 46 publications

Childhood social class and cognitive aging in the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging

Childhood social class and cognitive aging in the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging

Gender Differences in the Association between Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Cognitive Function in Later Life

Brain Aging Among Racially and Ethnically Diverse Middle-Aged and Older Adults

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