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Effects of education and race on cognitive decline: An integrative study of generalizability versus study-specific results.
- Source :
-
Psychology and aging [Psychol Aging] 2015 Dec; Vol. 30 (4), pp. 863-880. Date of Electronic Publication: 2015 Nov 02. - Publication Year :
- 2015
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Abstract
- The objective of the study was to examine variability across multiple prospective cohort studies in level and rate of cognitive decline by race/ethnicity and years of education. We compare data across studies, we harmonized estimates of common latent factors representing overall or general cognitive performance, memory, and executive function derived from the: (a) Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights, Inwood Columbia Aging Project (N = 4,115), (b) Spanish and English Neuropsychological Assessment Scales (N = 525), (c) Duke Memory, Health, and Aging study (N = 578), and (d) Neurocognitive Outcomes of Depression in the Elderly (N = 585). We modeled cognitive change over age for cognitive outcomes by race, education, and study. We adjusted models for sex, dementia status, and study-specific characteristics. The results found that for baseline levels of overall cognitive performance, memory, and executive function, differences in race and education tended to be larger than between-study differences and consistent across studies. This pattern did not hold for rate of cognitive decline: effects of education and race/ethnicity on cognitive change were not consistently observed across studies, and when present were small, with racial/ethnic minorities and those with lower education declining at faster rates. In this diverse set of datasets, non-Hispanic Whites and those with higher education had substantially higher baseline cognitive test scores. However, differences in the rate of cognitive decline by race/ethnicity and education did not follow this pattern. This study suggests that baseline test scores and longitudinal change have different determinants, and future studies to examine similarities and differences of causes of cognitive decline in racially/ethnically and educationally diverse older groups is needed.<br /> ((c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).)
- Subjects :
- Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cognition
Cognition Disorders ethnology
Ethnicity psychology
Ethnicity statistics & numerical data
Executive Function
Female
Hispanic or Latino psychology
Humans
Language
Male
Middle Aged
Prospective Studies
Washington
White People psychology
Aging ethnology
Aging physiology
Aging psychology
Cognition Disorders psychology
Educational Status
Neuropsychological Tests statistics & numerical data
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1939-1498
- Volume :
- 30
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Psychology and aging
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 26523693
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000032