The Effect of Childhood Socioeconomic Position and Social Mobility on Cognitive Function and Change Among Older Adults: A Comparison Between the United States and England
Year: 2020
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: OBJECTIVES: This study aims to examine the relationship between childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) and cognitive function in later life within nationally representative samples of older adults in the United States and England, investigate whether these effects are mediated by later-life SEP, and determine whether social mobility from childhood to adulthood affects cognitive function and decline. METHOD: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing (ELSA), we examined the relationships between measures of SEP, cognitive performance and decline using individual growth curve models. RESULTS: High childhood SEP was associated with higher cognitive performance at baseline in both cohorts and did not affect the rate of decline. This benefit dissipated after adjusting for education and adult wealth in the United States. Respondents with low childhood SEP, above median education, and high adult SEP had better cognitive performance at baseline than respondents with a similar childhood background and less upward mobility in both countries. DISCUSSION: These findings emphasize the impact of childhood SEP on cognitive trajectories among older adults. Upward mobility may partially compensate for disadvantage early in life but does not protect against cognitive decline.
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: National Institute on Aging
Awards: Mega Meta Data Set of the Health and Retirement Surveys Around the World, G2511023717, G2639381427, Identifying modifiable aspects of gene-by-environment interplay in later-life cognitive decline, Interplay of Genetic & Socioeconomic Predictors of Memory Decline in Older Adults, Archiving & Creating User Friendly Data: the Longitudinal Aging Survey in India, G4428411940, G5068324315, G5442798412, G6902288782, Characterizing disparities in late-onset Alzheimer's disease risk through polygenic risk and epidemiologic factors in the Health and Retirement Survey, DNA Methylation,Genetics, and Modifiable Risk Factors of Dementia in a Nationally Representative, Multi-Ethnic Cohort, Health and Retirement Study: Yrs 35-40, Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center at the University of Michigan (UM Pepper Center), Integrating Information about Aging Surveys: Novel Integration of Contextual Data to Study Late-Life Cognition and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia and Dementia Care
OpenAlex ID: W3167810400