Advantaged socioeconomic conditions in childhood are associated with higher cognitive functioning but stronger cognitive decline in older age.

ABSTRACT: Cognitive aging is characterized by large heterogeneity, which may be due to variations in childhood socioeconomic conditions (CSC). Although there is substantial evidence for an effect of CSC on levels of cognitive functioning at older age, results on associations with cognitive decline are mixed. We examined by means of an accelerated longitudinal design the association between CSC and cognitive trajectories from 50 to 96 years. Cognition included two functions generally found to decline with aging: delayed recall and verbal fluency. Data are from six waves of the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), conducted between 2004 and 2015 (n = 24,066 at baseline; 56% female, age 50+). We found a consistent CSC pattern in levels of cognitive functioning in later life

SUBMITTER: Aartsen MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6431198 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature