Educational Attainment and Later-Life Cognitive Function in High- and Middle-Income Countries: Evidence From the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
; 79(5)2024 May 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38284333
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Identifying social policies that can promote cognitive health is crucial for reducing the global burden of dementia. We evaluated the importance of educational attainment for later-life cognitive function in various social and geographic settings.METHODS:
Using harmonized data for individuals aged ≥65 years from the United States Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and its international partner studies in England, Mexico, China, and India, and each study's respective Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP), we conducted a cross-national comparative study to examine the role of educational attainment in later-life cognitive function across countries (n = 14,980, 2016-2019). We used multivariable-adjusted regression to estimate associations between educational attainment and harmonized global cognitive function scores.RESULTS:
In Mexico, China, and India, the general cognitive function scores on average are approximately one standard deviation of the HRS-HCAP cognitive function score distribution lower compared to the United States and England, paralleling patterns of educational attainment across countries. In all countries, higher educational attainment was associated with progressively higher later-life cognitive function scores. Population-level differences in educational attainment explained about 50%-90% of the observed differences in cognitive function scores across countries.DISCUSSION:
The relationship between education and later-life cognitive function across social and geographic contexts underscores the crucial role of education to promote cognitive health and reduce dementia risk. Continual improvement of educational attainment in low- and middle-income settings may yield a significant pay-off in later-life cognitive health.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Demência
/
Sucesso Acadêmico
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
Assunto da revista:
CIENCIAS SOCIAIS
/
GERIATRIA
/
PSICOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos