Education, neighborhood environment, and cognitive decline: Findings from two prospective cohort studies of older adults in China. Issue 2 (31st May 2022) - Wang, Yingzhe
Abstract: Introduction: The impacts of education on cognitive decline across different neighborhood environments (NEs) have rarely been studied. Methods: We investigated and compared the associations between educational attainment and cognitive decline using data of 1286 participants from the Taizhou Imaging Study (TIS) and the Shanghai Aging Study (SAS). Results: Compared with low‐educated participants, in TIS with disadvantaged NE, high‐educated participants manifested a significantly slower decline in global cognition (.062 Z score per year, P < .001), memory (.054 Z score per year, P < .05), and attention (.065 Z score per year, P < .01), whereas in SAS with advanced NE, highly educated individuals exhibited a slower decline only in attention (.028 Z score per year, P < .05). Discussion: We observed the additive effect of educational attainment and NE on cognitive decline in older adults. Education is especially important for maintaining cognitive health in a disadvantaged environment.