Does Rural Living in Early Life Increase the Risk for Reduced Cognitive Functioning in Later Life?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Pamela Herd ◽  
Kamil Sicinski ◽  
Sanjay Asthana
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Early Life ◽  
High School Graduates ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Rural Residence ◽  
Rural Living ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Wisconsin Longitudinal Study ◽  
Robust Consensus

Background: There is a robust consensus, most recently articulated in the 2020 Lancet Commission, that the roots of dementia can be traced to early life, and that the path to prevention may start there as well. Indeed, a growing body of research demonstrates that early life disadvantage may influence the risk for later life dementia and cognitive decline. A still understudied risk, however, is early life rural residence, a plausible pathway given related economic and educational disadvantages, as well as associations between later life rural living and lower levels of cognitive functioning. Objective: We aim to examine whether living in rural environments during early life has long term implications for cognitive health in later life. Methods: We employed the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, which tracked 1 in every 3 high school graduates from the class of 1957, from infancy to ∼age 72. The data include a rich array of prospectively collected early life data, unique among existing studies, as well as later life measures of cognitive functioning. Results: We found a robust relationship between early life rural residence, especially living on a farm, and long-term risk for reduced cognitive performance on recall and fluency tasks. Controls for adolescent cognitive functioning, APOE ɛ2 and APOE ɛ4, as well as childhood and adult factors, ranging from early life socioeconomic conditions to later life health and rural and farm residency, did not alter the findings. Conclusion: Rural living in early life is an independent risk for lower levels of cognitive functioning in later life.

scholarly journals Early-life circumstances and the risk of function-limiting long-term conditions in later life

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-180
Author(s):  
Matthew H. Iveson ◽  
Chris Dibben ◽  
Ian J. Deary
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Functional Limitation ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Childhood Cognitive Ability ◽  
The Life Course

Older adults are particularly prone to function-limiting health issues that adversely affect their well-being. Previous work has identified factors from across the life course –childhood socio-economic status, childhood cognitive ability and education – that predict later-life functional outcomes. However, the independence of these contributions is unclear as later-in-the-life-course predictors are themselves affected by earlier ones. The present study capitalised on the recent linkage of the Scottish Mental Survey 1947 with the Scottish Longitudinal Study, using path analyses to examine the direct and indirect associations between life-course predictors and the risk of functional limitation at ages 55 (N = 2,374), 65 (N = 1,971) and 75 (N = 1,534). The odds of reporting a function-limiting long-term condition increased across later life. At age 55, reporting a functional limitation was significantly less likely in those with higher childhood socio-economic status, higher childhood cognitive ability and higher educational attainment; these associations were only partly mediated by other predictors. At age 65, adult socio-economic status emerged as a mediator of several associations, although direct associations with childhood socio-economic status and childhood cognitive ability were still observed. At age 75, only childhood socio-economic status and adult socio-economic status directly predicted the risk of a functional limitation, particularly those associated with disease or illness. A consistent pattern and direction of associations was observed with self-rated health more generally. These results demonstrate that early-life and adult circumstances are associated with functional limitations later in life, but that these associations are partly a product of complex mediation between life-course factors.

scholarly journals Early Life Circumstances and Cognitive Aging: Longitudinal Evidence From China Health and Retirement Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 62-62
Author(s):  
Zhuoer Lin ◽  
Xi Chen
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Cognitive Deficit ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Childhood Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Life Circumstances

Abstract Objectives: This study examines the long-term relationship between early life circumstances and later life cognitive aging. In particular, we differentiate the long-term effects of early life circumstances on level of cognitive deficit and rate of cognitive decline. Methods: Cognitive trajectories were measured using three waves of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Surveys (CHARLS 2011-2015). Linear mixed-effect model was used to decompose the individual level of cognitive deficit and rate of cognitive change in a sample of Chinese middle-aged and older adults 45-90 years of age (N=6,700). These two dimensions of cognition were matched to four domains of early life circumstances using CHARLS Life History Survey (2014), including childhood socioeconomic status, neighborhood environment, social relationships and health conditions. Their associations were examined by linear regressions. Stratification analysis was further conducted to investigate the mediating effect of education on early life circumstances and cognitive aging. Results: Childhood socioeconomic status, childhood friendship and early life health conditions were significantly associated with both the level of cognitive deficit and rate of decline. In contrast, the community environment, including childhood neighborhood safety and social cohesion, only affected the baseline level of cognitive deficit; and childhood relationship with parents only affected the rate of cognitive decline. Moreover, education was found to be a mediating factor of these relationships. Conclusion: Exposure to disadvantaged early life circumstances have significant negative effects on later life cognitive deficit as well as rate of cognitive decline. Nevertheless, these long-term impacts can be partially ameliorated by higher educational attainment.

scholarly journals Association of Blood Pressure Trajectories in Early Life with Subclinical Renal Damage in Middle Age

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (12) ◽  
pp. 2835-2846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenling Zheng ◽  
Jianjun Mu ◽  
Chao Chu ◽  
Jiawen Hu ◽  
Yu Yan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renal Function ◽  
Renal Disease ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Renal Damage ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Stable Group ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Group A

BackgroundAlthough high BP is one of the most important factors affecting renal function, whether longitudinal BP trajectories in early life course are associated with renal function damage in later life is unclear.MethodsTo investigate the correlation between BP trajectories from childhood to adulthood and renal function in middle age, we used group-based trajectory models to identify BP trajectories in 2430 individuals (aged 6–15 years old at baseline) participating in the ongoing Hanzhong Adolescent Hypertension Cohort. We tested the association between these trajectories and subclinical renal damage in middle age, adjusting for several covariates.ResultsWe identified four distinct systolic BP trajectories among 2430 subjects: low stable, moderate stable, high stable, and moderate increasing on the basis of systolic BP levels at baseline and during the 30-year follow-up period. The urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) was higher in moderate stable, high stable, and moderate increasing groups compared with the low stable group. A total of 228 individuals had subclinical renal disease by 2017. Compared with the low stable trajectory group, the other groups had increasingly greater odds of experiencing subclinical renal disease in middle age. These associations were not altered after adjustment for other covariates, except for in the moderate stable group. Analyzed results were similar for the mean arterial pressure and diastolic BP trajectory groups.ConclusionsHigher BP trajectories were correlated with higher of uACR levels and risk of subclinical renal disease in middle age. Identifying long-term BP trajectories from early age may assist in predicting individuals’ renal function in later life.

scholarly journals Intestinal microbiota during early life – impact on health and disease

2014 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lotta Nylund ◽  
Reetta Satokari ◽  
Seppo Salminen ◽  
Willem M. de Vos
Keyword(s):  
Intestinal Microbiota ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Life Impact ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Impact

In the first years after birth, the intestinal microbiota develops rapidly both in diversity and complexity while being relatively stable in healthy adults. Different life-style-related factors as well as medical practices have an influence on the early-life intestinal colonisation. We address the impact of some of these factors on the consecutive microbiota development and later health. An overview is presented of the microbial colonisation steps and the role of the host in that process. Moreover, new early biomarkers are discussed with examples that include the association of microbiota and atopic diseases, the correlation of colic and early development and the impact of the use of antibiotics in early life. Our understanding of the development and function of the intestinal microbiota is constantly improving but the long-term influence of early-life microbiota on later life health deserves careful clinical studies.

scholarly journals Early life nutrition influences susceptibility to chronic inflammatory colitis in later life

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Delphine Ley ◽  
Jean-Luc Desseyn ◽  
Valérie Gouyer ◽  
Ségolène Plet ◽  
Sebastian Tims ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Bacterial Colonization ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
Intestinal Barrier ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Postnatal Growth ◽  
Gut Health ◽  
Early Environment ◽  
Intestinal Maturation

AbstractThe first thousand days of life are a critical time of development in humans during which the risk profile for diseases in later life can be modified. Nevertheless, long-term consequences of early environment on susceptibility to intestinal diseases have not yet been assessed. Using a mouse model of postnatal growth restriction (PNGR), we showed that early life nutrition influences intestinal maturation and gut health in later life. PNGR induced an alteration of the intestinal barrier in pups at weaning, resulting in increased intestinal permeability, and affected gut bacterial colonization. Specifically, pups with PNGR harbored a decreased bacterial diversity, higher Enterococcus spp., Staphylococcus spp., and Escherichia-Shigella spp., and lower Odoribacter spp. and several members of the Lachnospiraceae family. The lack of an efficient intestinal barrier in early life and the dysbiosis induced by PNGR were associated with a higher susceptibility to chronic colitis in adulthood.

scholarly journals Early-Life Circumstances and Late-Life Loneliness: Findings From In-Depth Interviews

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 609-609
Author(s):  
Elisa Tiilikainen
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Childhood And Youth ◽  
Past Life ◽  
Life Circumstances ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract This case study examines loneliness from the perspective of two older men, who were interviewed three times as part of a five-year qualitative longitudinal study on loneliness in later life. Both interviewees self-identified as feeling lonely “often” or “all the time” and had experienced loneliness also in previous life phases. The interviews revealed trajectories of long-term loneliness which were impacted by life events and circumstances in early life, childhood and youth. Two critical experiences were identified: childhood bereavement and sexual abuse. These factors contributed to emotional insecurities and impacted the ways the interviewees perceived their selves and their relations with others. The acknowledgement of past life experiences is important for the theoretical and conceptual understanding of loneliness and the development of different intervention strategies. However, more longitudinal analysis is needed on the cumulative disadvantages making people vulnerable to long-term loneliness.

Early-Life Socioeconomic Conditions, Height, and Functional Health Status in Later Life: Evidence From South Korea

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 475-484
Author(s):  
Yeonjin Lee
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Functional Limitations ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
Korean Society ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Ordered Logistic Regression ◽  
Long Term Effect

The article contributes to the literature on health inequalities by examining the associations between early-life socioeconomic status (SES), height, and functional limitations in later life among Korean men and women. The findings were based on 1562 men and 1801 women aged 50 to 79 years who participated in the 2005 Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS). Among men, 17.8% reported having functional limitations, compared to 31.8% among women. The ordered logistic regression analyses showed that for Korean men, the relative contribution of early-life SES to functional health was less important than that of adult SES. For Korean women, childhood SES was a significant predictor of functional limitations after controlling for attained SES. Short stature was associated with poorer functional health only among men and the relationship was explained by adult characteristics. The results imply that long-term effect of childhood deprivation on health may be stronger among women in Korean society.

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