Education Does Not Slow Cognitive Decline with Aging: 12-Year Evidence from the Victoria Longitudinal Study

Files

zahodne_l.b._J.Int.Neuropsychol.Soc_2011.pdf (461.92 KB)

Date

2011

Authors

Zahodne, L.B.
Glymour, M.M.
Sparks, C.
Bontempo, D.
Dixon, R.A.
MacDonald, S.W.S.
Manly, J.J.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society

Abstract

Although the relationship between education and cognitive status is well-known, evidence regarding whether education moderates the trajectory of cognitive change in late life is conflicting. Early studies suggested that higher levels of education attenuate cognitive decline. More recent studies using improved longitudinal methods have not found that education moderates decline. Few studies have explored whether education exerts different effects on longitudinal changes within different cognitive domains. In the present study, we analyzed data from 1,023 participants in the Victoria Longitudinal Study to examine the effects of education on composite scores reflecting verbal processing speed, working memory, verbal fluency, and verbal episodic memory. Using linear growth models adjusted for age at enrollment (range: 55–94) and gender, we found that years of education (range: 6–20) was strongly related to cognitive level in all domains, particularly verbal fluency. However, education was not related to rates of change over time for any cognitive domain. Results were similar in individuals older or younger than 70 at baseline, and when education was dichotomized to reflect high or low attainment. In this large longitudinal cohort, education was related to cognitive performance but unrelated to cognitive decline, supporting the hypothesis of passive cognitive reserve with aging.

Description

Keywords

cognitive reserve, processing speed, working memory, verbal fluency, verbal episodic memory

Citation

Zahodne, L.B., Glymour, M.M., Sparks, C., Bontempo, D., Dixon, R.A., MacDonald, S.W.S., & Manly, J.J. (2011). Education Does Not Slow Cognitive Decline with Aging: 12-Year Evidence from the Victoria Longitudinal Study. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 17(6), 1039-1046. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617711001044

URI

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617711001044
 http://hdl.handle.net/1828/13429

Collections

Faculty and Staff Publications
 
University of Victoria Libraries

We acknowledge and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.