TY - JOUR
T1 - The effects of selective survival on black adults' cognitive development
AU - Tan, Shyuan Ching
AU - Gamaldo, Alyssa A.
AU - Brick, Timothy
AU - Thorpe, Roland J.
AU - Allaire, Jason C.
AU - Whitfield, Keith E.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging (R01 AG24108 and AG24108-S1 to K. E. Whitfield and J. C. Allaire; 02AG059140 and P30AG059298 to R. J. Thorpe Jr.; and R01 AG054363 to R. J. Thorpe Jr. and K. E. Whitfield) and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (U54MD000214 to R. J. Thorpe Jr.).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/10/1
Y1 - 2021/10/1
N2 - Objectives: The theory of selective survival suggests that possibly around 70-75 years of age, Blacks may display substantive changes in their pattern of cognitive decline. This study examined the age-graded pattern of cognitive decline within older Blacks by describing a trend that characterizes differences in the change of cognitive decline from ages 51.5 to 95.5, and hypothesized that this age-graded pattern is nonlinear. Method: Utilizing 2 waves of longitudinal data from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging, this study used multilevel modeling to test whether the interaction between age and the 3-year study period (time between waves) had a positive effect on changes in inductive reasoning, declarative memory, working memory, and perceptual speed. Results: A significant positive interaction between age and wave was found for inductive reasoning, demonstrating an age-grade pattern of change/decline in cognitive pattern for Blacks aged 51.5-95.4. Simple slope probing via the Johnson-Neyman Technique suggested that Black adults ~64 years and younger experienced significant decline in inductive reasoning across study time, whereas for those older than 63.71, the decline was nonsignificant. No significant age-wave interactions were found for declarative memory, working memory, or perceptual speed. Discussion: Findings suggest a selective survival effect for inductive reasoning ability among Blacks. With decline evident so early, common cognitive intervention programs targeting adults 65+ may come too late for Blacks, signifying the importance and urgency for early health interventions and public policy designed to promote cognitive reserve.
AB - Objectives: The theory of selective survival suggests that possibly around 70-75 years of age, Blacks may display substantive changes in their pattern of cognitive decline. This study examined the age-graded pattern of cognitive decline within older Blacks by describing a trend that characterizes differences in the change of cognitive decline from ages 51.5 to 95.5, and hypothesized that this age-graded pattern is nonlinear. Method: Utilizing 2 waves of longitudinal data from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging, this study used multilevel modeling to test whether the interaction between age and the 3-year study period (time between waves) had a positive effect on changes in inductive reasoning, declarative memory, working memory, and perceptual speed. Results: A significant positive interaction between age and wave was found for inductive reasoning, demonstrating an age-grade pattern of change/decline in cognitive pattern for Blacks aged 51.5-95.4. Simple slope probing via the Johnson-Neyman Technique suggested that Black adults ~64 years and younger experienced significant decline in inductive reasoning across study time, whereas for those older than 63.71, the decline was nonsignificant. No significant age-wave interactions were found for declarative memory, working memory, or perceptual speed. Discussion: Findings suggest a selective survival effect for inductive reasoning ability among Blacks. With decline evident so early, common cognitive intervention programs targeting adults 65+ may come too late for Blacks, signifying the importance and urgency for early health interventions and public policy designed to promote cognitive reserve.
KW - Age-graded pattern
KW - Cognitive change
KW - Early cognitive and educational intervention
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116544952&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85116544952&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/geronb/gbab003
DO - 10.1093/geronb/gbab003
M3 - Article
C2 - 33406264
AN - SCOPUS:85116544952
SN - 1079-5014
VL - 76
SP - 1489
EP - 1498
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
IS - 8
ER -