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Objective: Investigations of cohort differences in relationships between education and health tend to focus on mortality or self-reported health. We report one of the first analyses of cohort differences in relationships between education and objective measures of functional abilities across the lifespan. Method: Up to 26 years of follow-up data were available from 859 adults from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging. The sample was divided into two cohorts by birth year: 1900-1924 and 1925-1948. Latent growth curve models (LGCM) were compared across cohort and educational levels. Results: LGCM indicated divergence between adults with lower and higher educational attainment in longitudinal trajectories of change with age in the Balance and Flexibility factors for the later born cohort only. Discussion: Results support the cumulative advantage theory and suggest that education-health disparities are increasing in recent cohorts, even in counties with national health care systems and strong support of education.

Objective: Subjective health is a complex indicator predicting longevity independent of objective health. Few studies examine genetic and environmental mechanisms underlying different facets of subjective health across the life course., Method: Three subjective health measures were examined in 12,900 twins ( M age = 63.38, range = 25-102) from nine studies in the Interplay of Genes and Environment across Multiple Studies Consortium: self-rated health (SRH), health compared with others (COMP), and health interfering with activities (ACT)., Results: Analyses indicated age and sex differences in mean scores depending on the measure. SRH and ACT showed significant linear and non-linear moderation by age for individual differences in both genetic and environmental variance. Significant sex differences in components of variance were found for SRH and ACT, but not COMP., Discussion: Subjective health appears to be dependent on frame of reference and reflect different aspects of health. Results suggest different genetic and environmental mechanisms underlie each facet.

Sex differences in the etiology of normal cognitive functioning in aging remain largely unexplored. We conducted an investigation of genetic and environmental contributions to sex differences in level of cognitive performance and rate of decline in the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA) (Finkel & Pedersen, 2004) data set. Behavioral genetic parameterizations of a latent growth curve model were fit to longitudinal data on 11 cognitive measures. Seven hundred and ninety-eight non-demented individuals had cognitive data across four waves of measurement covering 13 years. Participants ranged in age from 44 to 88 at first testing wave; 60% were female. Results indicated sex differences in mean performance for five cognitive measures and in rates of decline for Information and Card Rotations. Only Synonyms demonstrated sex differences in genetic and environmental contributions to mean performance: heritability was higher in men than women. Despite differential longevity and susceptibility to disease, there are no consistent indications that men and women show different patterns of cognitive aging.

Objectives: This article will examine the generalizability of markers of aging across samples and cultures and the genetic and environmental influences on them., Methods: As part of two studies, 18 demographic, cognitive, physiological, personality, and behavioral variables were available from 459 twin pairs ranging in age from 40 to 90 years. Twelve markers of aging were identified using stepwise regression. Factor analysis of the markers produced four factors: general knowledge, fluid abilities, cardiovascular functioning, and well-being., Results: Analysis of twin similarity for the factors suggested that genetic and environmental influences varied greatly. Significant age differences in heritability were found for three of the four factors., Discussion: Results indicate one aging theory cannot account for changes in all markers of aging. Aging of various systems occurs as a result of different combinations of genetic and environmental influences.

Measures of memory performance and cognitive and lifestyle variables were obtained from 147 younger twin pairs (27 to 60 years) and 194 older twin pairs (60 to 94 years) as part of the Minnesota Twin Study of Adult Development and Aging. Correlational and behavior genetic analyses were combined to investigate age differences in 1) the relationship between memory performance and cognitive and lifestyle variables, 2) genetic and environmental influences on memory performance, and 3) genetic and environmental mediation of the relationship between memory and predictor variables. No age differences in heritability were found. Qualitative age differences in memory processes were suggested by age group differences in the correlations between memory and cognitive factors. Even though age differences in phenotypic correlations had been demonstrated, no age differences in the genetic and environmental mediation of the correlations were found. In other words, the magnitude of the correlation between memory and cognitive factors varied across age groups but the nature of the relationship did not.