Childhood socioeconomic status and genetic risk for poorer cognition in later life.

ABSTRACT: The ε4 allele of the APOE gene is associated with poorer cognition in later life. This study aimed to advance understanding of how environments potentially moderate this genetic risk by focusing on childhood socioeconomic status (SES). Previous research across diverse national contexts has found that older adults from higher-SES families in childhood demonstrate better cognitive functioning than their lower-SES counterparts. Nevertheless, few studies have examined whether higher childhood SES might also promote later life cognition by mitigating the effects of ε4 carrier status. To address this gap, we used data from 3017 participants in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, which has followed a random sample of people who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957. Childhood SES included p

SUBMITTER: Moorman SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6536306 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature