Journal article
Educational Benefits and Cognitive Health Life Expectancies: Racial/Ethnic, Nativity, and Gender Disparities
The Gerontologist, v 61(3), pp 330-340
03 Apr 2021
PMID: 32833008
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Background and Objectives: To examine racial/ethnic, nativity, and gender differences in the benefits of educational attainment on cognitive health life expectancies among older adults in the United States.
Research Design and Methods: We used data from the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2014) to estimate Sullivan-based life tables of cognitively healthy, cognitively impaired/no dementia, and dementia life expectancies by gender for older White, Black, U.S.-born Hispanic, and foreign-born Hispanic adults with less than high school, high school, and some college or more.
Results: White respondents lived a greater percentage of their remaining lives cognitively healthy than their minority Black or Hispanic counterparts, regardless of level of education. Among respondents with some college or more, versus less than high school, Black and U.S.-born Hispanic women exhibited the greatest increase (both 37 percentage points higher) in the proportion of total life expectancy spent cognitively healthy; whereas White women had the smallest increase (17 percentage points higher). For men, the difference between respondents with some college or more, versus less than high school, was greatest for Black men (35 percentage points higher) and was lowest for U.S.-born Hispanic men (21 percentage points higher).
Discussion and Implications: Our results provide evidence that the benefits of education on cognitive health life expectancies are largest for Black men and women and U.S.-born Hispanic women. The combination of extended longevity and rising prevalence of Alzheimer's disease points to the need for understanding why certain individuals spend an extended period of their lives with poor cognitive health.
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Details
- Title
- Educational Benefits and Cognitive Health Life Expectancies: Racial/Ethnic, Nativity, and Gender Disparities
- Creators
- Marc A. Garcia - University of Nebraska–LincolnBrian Downer - The University of Texas Medical Branch at GalvestonChi-Tsun Chiu - Acad Sinica, Inst European & Amer Studies, Taipei, TaiwanJoseph L. Saenz - University of Southern CaliforniaKasim Ortiz - University of New MexicoRebeca Wong - The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
- Publication Details
- The Gerontologist, v 61(3), pp 330-340
- Publisher
- Oxford Univ Press
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- R01NR015241-0S1 / National Institute of Nursing Research; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) T32AG000270; T32AG000037; R01AG054466-0S1; R00AG058799; K01AG058789; P30 AG059300; P30 AG059301; P30AG043073 / National Institute on Aging; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA) U54MD004811-0S1 / National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Nebraska Tobacco Settlement Biomedical Research Development Funds
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Health Management and Policy
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000648934300015
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85104046565
- Other Identifier
- 991021899211704721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Gerontology