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Predictors of Episodic Memory Performance Across Educational Strata: Multiple-Group Comparisons

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2019

Laiss Bertola ,
Caitlin Wei-Ming Watson ,
Justina F. Avila ,
Laura B. Zahodne ,
Milou Angevaare ,
Nicole Schupf  and
Jennifer J. Manly
Laiss Bertola
Affiliation:
Departamento de Saúde Mental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Caitlin Wei-Ming Watson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
Justina F. Avila
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87110, USA
Laura B. Zahodne
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Milou Angevaare
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice & Elderly Care Medicine, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Nicole Schupf
Affiliation:
Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Jennifer J. Manly*
Affiliation:
Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Jennifer J. Manly, Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center, 630 W 168th St, P&S Box 16, New York, NY, USA. Tel. 10032 (212) 305 8604. E-mail: jjm71@cumc.columbia.edu
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Abstract

Objectives: Low educational attainment is a risk factor for more rapid cognitive aging, but there is substantial variability in cognitive trajectories within educational groups. The aim of this study was to determine the factors that confer resilience to memory decline within educational strata. Methods: We selected 2573 initially nondemented White, African American, and Hispanic participants from the longitudinal community-based Washington Heights/Inwood Columbia Aging Project who had at least two visits. We estimated initial memory (intercept) and the rate of memory decline (slope) using up to five occasions of measurement. We classified groups according to the educational attainment groups as low (≤5 years), medium (6–11 years), and high (≥12 years). We used a multiple-group latent growth model to identify the baseline predictors of initial memory performance and rate of memory decline across groups. The model specification considered the influence of demographic, socioeconomic, biomedical, and cognitive variables on the intercept and the slope of memory trajectory. Results: Our results indicated that the three educational groups do not benefit from the same factors. When allowed to differ across groups, the predictors were related to cognitive outcomes in the highly educated group, but we found no unique predictor of cognition for the low educated older adults. Conclusions: These findings highlight that memory-protective factors may differ across older adults with distinct educational backgrounds, and the need to evaluate a broader range of potential resilience factors for older adults with few years of school.

Keywords

Cognitive agingEpisodic memoryResilience factorsEducational attainmentStatistical modelingLongitudinal study
Type
Regular Research
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 25 , Issue 9 , October 2019 , pp. 901 - 909
Copyright
Copyright © INS. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2019. 

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