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

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorZahodne, L.B.
dc.contributor.authorGlymour, M.M.
dc.contributor.authorSparks, C.
dc.contributor.authorBontempo, D.
dc.contributor.authorDixon, R.A.
dc.contributor.authorMacDonald, S.W.S.
dc.contributor.authorManly, J.J.
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-01T21:21:32Z
dc.date.available2021-10-01T21:21:32Z
dc.date.copyright2011en_US
dc.date.issued2011
dc.description.abstractAlthough 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.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelFacultyen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThe authors acknowledge the Friday Harbor Advanced Psychometric Methods Workshop in Cognitive Aging in the initiation and development of this manuscript. This research was facilitated by the Integrative Analysis of Longitudinal Studies of Aging (IALSA) research network (NIH/NIA AG026453), and other support from P30- DC005803 and the National Institute on Aging (T32AG020499-UF/LBZ). The Victoria Longitudinal Study is funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIH/NIA R37 AG008235) to Roger Dixon. The authors also wish to acknowledge the helpful comments of Dan Mungas in the development of the manuscript. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.en_US
dc.identifier.citationZahodne, 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/S1355617711001044en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617711001044
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/13429
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherJournal of the International Neuropsychological Societyen_US
dc.subjectcognitive reserve
dc.subjectprocessing speed
dc.subjectworking memory
dc.subjectverbal fluency
dc.subjectverbal episodic memory
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Psychology
dc.titleEducation Does Not Slow Cognitive Decline with Aging: 12-Year Evidence from the Victoria Longitudinal Studyen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
zahodne_l.b._J.Int.Neuropsychol.Soc_2011.pdf
Size:
461.92 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

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.