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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Early life influences on cognitive impairment among oldest old Chinese | | Author(s) | Zhenmei Zhang, Danan Gu, Mark D Hayward |
| Journal title | Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol 63B, no 1, January 2008 |
| Pages | pp S25-S33 |
| Source | http://www.geron.org |
| Keywords | Life span ; Cognitive impairment ; Over 70s ; Economic status [elderly] ; Longitudinal surveys ; China. |
| Annotation | Data derived from two waves (1998-2000) of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey are used to examine the effects of early life socioeconomic conditions on the risk of cognitive impairment among the oldest old in China. The sample comprised 8,444 people aged 80 to 105. Also examined was whether adult socioeconomic status mediates the association between early life socioeconomic status and cognitive impairment in old age. Estimated logistic and multinomial regression models were used of cognitive impairment for this nationwide sample. Results showed that among both men and women, urban residence in early life as well as education was associated with lower odds of cognitive impairment at baseline. The authors found modest support for a protective effect of advantaged childhood background on the odds of cognitive impairment onset during the 2-year follow-up, especially among women. Findings suggest that socioeconomic environment throughout the life course - particularly in early - can influence the risk of cognitive impairment in old age. Not only can public policy that targets illiteracy, hunger, and poverty improve the lives of tens of thousands of children, but ultimately such investments will pay significant dividends many decades later in enhancing older people's cognitive well-being. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-091208217 A |
| Classmark | BG6: E4: BBK: F:W: 3J: 7DC |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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