Journal
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES B-PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Volume 70, Issue 4, Pages 557-567Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbt133
Keywords
Cognition; Life events and contexts; Minority and diverse populations
Funding
- National Institute on Aging [T32 AG023480, R03 AG045494, R01 AG043960, R21 AG03438501, T32 AG000258, R01 AG028786]
- National Institutes of Health [T32 MH1993417, UL1 TR000062, KL2 TR000060]
- Litwin Foundation
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Objectives. Racial disparities in late-life cognition persist even after accounting for educational attainment. We examined whether early-life educational quality and literacy in later life help explain these disparities. Method. We used longitudinal data from the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP). Educational quality (percent white students; urban/rural school; combined grades in classroom) was operationalized using canonical correlation analysis. Late-life literacy (reading comprehension and ability, writing) was operationalized using confirmatory factor analysis. We examined whether these factors attenuated race-related differences in late-life cognition. Results. The sample consisted of 1,679 U.S.-born, non-Hispanic, community-living adults aged 65-102 (71% black, 29% white; 70% women). Accounting for educational quality and literacy reduced disparities by 29% for general cognitive functioning, 26% for memory, and 32% for executive functioning but did not predict differences in rate of cognitive change. Discussion. Early-life educational quality and literacy in late life explain a substantial portion of race-related disparities in late-life cognitive function.
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