Differential impact of educational attainment on later life cognition by race/ethnicity in the Project Talent Aging Study

Abstract The large body of research on living arrangements at older ages pays little attention to the growing population of childless men and women. We begin to fill this gap by using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) over a period of 14 years (2000-2014) to describe the number of years between ages 65-90 that childless Americans live in four different living arrangements: alone, with spouse, with others, and in a nursing home. Because the number of childless HRS respondents is not large (n = 835 in 2000), we first estimate sex-specific single decrement life tables by race/ethnicity and by educational attainment. We then use Sullivan’s method to calculate living arrangement-specific life expectancy for each group, thus providing a comprehensive descriptive portrait of sociodemographic differences in living arrangements across older ages for childless Americans. Preliminary results show that differences in living arrangement-specific life expectancy by race/ethnicity and educational attainment primarily reflect group differences in mortality. The proportion of later life spent in different living arrangements is generally similar across racial/ethnic groups and education levels. This stands in contrast to large racial/ethnic and educational differences documented in earlier studies of older Americans with at least one living child. Results also show that the proportion (and years) of later life spent living alone is substantial, especially for women (over 50%). We discuss the potential implications of these findings with reference to both projected trends in the childless population and research on associations between living arrangements and health of childless older Americans.

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A New Look at the Living Arrangements of Older Americans Using Multistate Life Tables

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gby099 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 74 (7) ◽

pp. e84-e96 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

James M Raymo ◽

Isabel Pike ◽

Jersey Liang

Keyword(s):

Life Expectancy ◽

Educational Attainment ◽

Living Arrangements ◽

Living Arrangement ◽

Later Life ◽

The United States ◽

Life Tables ◽

Older Americans ◽

Multistate Life Tables ◽

Race Ethnicity

Abstract Objectives We extend existing research on the living arrangements of older Americans by focusing on geographic proximity to children, examining transitions in living arrangements across older ages, and describing differences by both race/ethnicity and educational attainment. Method We use data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) over a period of 10 years (2000–2010) to construct multistate life tables. These analyses allow us to describe the lives of older Americans between ages 65 and 90 in terms of the number of expected years of life in different living arrangements, reflecting both mortality and living arrangement transitions. Results Americans spend a substantial proportion of later life living near, but not with, adult children. There is a good deal of change in living arrangements at older ages and living arrangement-specific life expectancy differs markedly by race/ethnicity and educational attainment. However, overall life expectancy is not strongly related to living arrangements at age 65. Discussion Multistate life tables, constructed separately by sex, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment, provide a comprehensive description of sociodemographic differences in living arrangements across older ages in the United States. We discuss the potential implications of these differences for access to support and the exacerbation or mitigation of inequalities at older ages.

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Greater Adolescent Cognitive Ability Is Linked to Lower Risk of Cognitive Impairment in Later Life

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.1853 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 481-482

Author(s):

Tara Gruenewald ◽

Catalina Zavala ◽

Molli Grossman ◽

Thalida Arpawong ◽

Jennifer Manly ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Educational Attainment ◽

Life Course ◽

Cognitive Ability ◽

Cognitive Assessment ◽

Later Life ◽

Cognitive Domains ◽

Positive Screen ◽

Aging Study ◽

Sibling Models

Abstract There have been few investigations of the role that adolescent cognitive ability plays in predicting later-life cognitive impairment, and the mechanisms, such greater life course educational exposure, that might underlie these connections. This knowledge gap is due, in part, to a lack of cohorts with early-life cognitive assessment who are followed to later adulthood. We capitalized on data from the 1960 Project Talent (PT) high school cohort (n>360,000) and two recent follow-ups, the Project Talent Twin & Sibling (PTTS; n=2,491 in 2014) Study and the Project Talent Aging Study (PTAS; n=6,421 in 2018), to examine these potential links. In 1960, ability was assessed in multiple cognitive domains (e.g., general aptitude, quantitative, reasoning). Participants/proxies reporting 2 or more symptoms of cognitive impairment in 2018 on the AD8 Dementia Screener were classified as having a positive screen. Binary logistic generalized estimating equations with race, sex, and adolescent family SES covariates, indicated that in multiple cognitive domains, higher ability in adolescence predicted lower odds of a positive AD8 screen in later life (ORs of 0.80 - 0.85). The effects were only slightly attenuated with inclusion of life course educational attainment. Sibling models found a similar pattern of associations and effect sizes, indicating that the association is not attributable to shared family and genetic background. These findings indicate that higher cognitive ability as indicated by better performance in multiple cognitive domains in adolescence may be protective against cognitive impairment five decades later and life course educational attainment only partially mediates this association.

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Supplemental Material for Does Combat Exposure Affect Well-Being in Later Life? The VA Normative Aging Study

Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy ◽

10.1037/tra0000282.supp ◽

2017 ◽

Keyword(s):

Later Life ◽

Well Being ◽

Combat Exposure ◽

Normative Aging Study ◽

Aging Study ◽

Normative Aging

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Early Child–Parent Relationship Quality and Cognitive Function in Older Rural Chinese Adults: The Mediating Role of Educational Attainment

Journal of Aging and Health ◽

10.1177/0898264321996562 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 089826432199656

Author(s):

Changmin Peng ◽

Jeffrey A. Burr ◽

Dong Yang ◽

Nan Lu

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Educational Attainment ◽

Relationship Quality ◽

Later Life ◽

Life Course Perspective ◽

Early Child ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Parent Relationship

Objectives: Framed within a life course perspective and cognitive reserve theory, this study examined the mediating role of educational attainment for the association between child–parent relationships during childhood and cognitive function among older adults in rural China. Methods: Data were obtained from three waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study ( N = 9809). We employed latent growth curve modeling to test the association among early child–parent relationship quality, educational attainment, and cognitive function in later life. Results: Early child–mother relationship quality was associated with the level and change in cognitive function. Early child–father relationship quality was only related to baseline cognitive function. Educational attainment mediated the relationship between early child–parent relationship quality with mothers and fathers and cognitive function. Discussion: Parental relationship experience in childhood was one distal factor related to cognitive function among older adults. The findings supported the long-term impacts of childhood conditions for later life health consequences.

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210: Trends in the Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus by Race/Ethnicity and Educational Attainment

American Journal of Epidemiology ◽

10.1093/aje/161.supplement_1.s53a ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 161 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S53-S53

Author(s):

F J Dallo ◽

K White ◽

L N Borrell

Keyword(s):

Diabetes Mellitus ◽

Educational Attainment ◽

Race Ethnicity ◽

Prevalence Of Diabetes Mellitus

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Do apolipoprotein E genotype and educational attainment predict the rate of cognitive decline in normal aging? A 12-year follow-up of the Maastricht Aging Study.

Neuropsychology ◽

10.1037/a0028685 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 459-472 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Pascal W. M. Van Gerven ◽

Martin P. J. Van Boxtel ◽

Eleonora E. B. Ausems ◽

Otto Bekers ◽

Jelle Jolles

Keyword(s):

Educational Attainment ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Apolipoprotein E ◽

Normal Aging ◽

Aging Study ◽

Apolipoprotein E Genotype

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A Life Course Approach to Inequality: Examining Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Relationship between Early Life Socioeconomic Conditions and Health in Later Life Among Men

Ethnicity & Disease ◽

10.18865/ed.25.3.313 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 313 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Taylor W. Hargrove, MA ◽

Tyson H. Brown, PhD

Keyword(s):

Life Course ◽

Mexican American ◽

White Men ◽

Later Life ◽

Adult Health ◽

Socioeconomic Conditions ◽

Growth Curve Models ◽

Life Course Approach ◽

Race Ethnicity ◽

Racial Ethnic

Objective: Previous research has documented a relationship between childhood socioeconomic conditions and adult health, but less is known about racial/ethnic differences in this relationship, particularly among men. This study utilizes a life course approach to investigate racial/ethnic differences in the relationships among early and later life socioeconomic circumstances and health in adulthood among men.Design: Panel data from the Health and Retirement Study and growth curve models are used to examine group differences in the relationships among childhood and adult socioeconomic factors and age-trajectories of self-rated health among White, Black and Mexican American men aged 51-77 years (N=4147).Results: Multiple measures of childhood socioeconomic status (SES) predict health in adulthood for White men, while significantly fewer measures of childhood SES predict health for Black and Mexican American men. Moreover, the health consequences of childhood SES diminish with age for Black and Mexican American men. The childhood SES-adult health relationship is largely explained by measures of adult SES for White men.Conclusion: The life course pathways linking childhood SES and adult health differ by race/ethnicity among men. Similar to arguments that the universality of the adult SES-health relationship should not be assumed, results from our study suggest that scholars should not assume that the significance and nature of the association between childhood SES and health in adulthood is similar across race/ethnicity among men. Ethn Dis.2015;25(3):313-320.

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