TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of early-life educational quality and literacy in explaining racial disparities in cognition in late life
AU - Sisco, Shannon
AU - Gross, Alden L.
AU - Shih, Regina A.
AU - Sachs, Bonnie C.
AU - Glymour, M. Maria
AU - Bangen, Katherine J.
AU - Benitez, Andreana
AU - Skinner, Jeannine
AU - Schneider, Brooke C.
AU - Manly, Jennifer J.
PY - 2015/7/1
Y1 - 2015/7/1
N2 - 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 1,679U.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.
AB - 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 1,679U.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.
KW - Cognition
KW - Life events and contexts
KW - Minority and diverse populations
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U2 - 10.1093/geronb/gbt133
DO - 10.1093/geronb/gbt133
M3 - Article
C2 - 24584038
AN - SCOPUS:84936805782
VL - 70
SP - 557
EP - 567
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
SN - 1079-5014
IS - 4
ER -