Cohort improvement; Delayed recall; Flynn effect; Immediate recall; Verbal fluency; Humans; Europe; Male; Aged; Female; Middle Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Sex Factors; Cohort Studies; Risk Factors; Health Surveys; Educational Status; Cognition/physiology; Cognition; Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Abstract :
[en] [en] BACKGROUND: This study explores recent cohort trends in cognitive performance among older Europeans from 2007 to 2017, addressing three key questions: (1) Did cognitive performance improve universally and across the performance distribution during this period? (2) Did these improvements occur across educational levels and for both men and women? (3) Can established risk factors explain these performance gains?
METHODS: Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) across 12 European countries, we assessed immediate recall, delayed recall, and verbal fluency in individuals aged 60 to 94 in both 2007 and 2017 (n = 32 773). Differences between the two time points were estimated with linear mixed effects regression models and quantile regression.
RESULTS: Cognitive performance improved in all age groups, across educational levels, and for both men and women between 2007 and 2017. Notably, improvements were more pronounced at the upper end of the performance distribution for delayed recall and verbal fluency. Education explained approximately 20% of the observed improvements. Risk factors did not explain the observed improvements.
CONCLUSIONS: European cohorts of both younger-old and older adults continue to exhibit improvements in cognitive performance. Variation in the size of the cohort improvements across the performance distributions in delayed recall and in verbal fluency may contribute to growing inequalities in cognitive outcomes. Future research should further investigate the potential heterogeneity in cognitive performance gains.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.
Research center :
Integrative Research Unit: Social and Individual Development (INSIDE) > PEARL Institute for Research on Socio-Economic Inequality (IRSEI)
Disciplines :
Public health, health care sciences & services Sociology & social sciences Theoretical & cognitive psychology
Author, co-author :
Rehnberg, Johan; Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Tomtebodavägen 18A, Solna, Solna, SE-171 65, Sweden. johan.rehnberg@ki.se
Fors, Stefan; Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Tomtebodavägen 18A, Solna, Solna, SE-171 65, Sweden ; Department of Public Health, Stockholm University, Albanovägen 12, Stockholm, Sweden ; Center for Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Solnavägen, 1E, Sweden
FORD, Katherine Joy ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences > Department of Social Sciences > Team Anja LEIST ; Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, K1S 5B6, Canada
LEIST, Anja ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE) > Department of Social Sciences (DSOC) > Socio-Economic Inequality
External co-authors :
yes
Language :
English
Title :
Cognitive performance trends among European older adults: exploring variations across cohorts, gender, and educational levels (2007-2017).
Publication date :
20 June 2024
Journal title :
BMC Public Health
eISSN :
1471-2458
Publisher :
BioMed Central Ltd, England
Volume :
24
Issue :
1
Pages :
1646
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Development Goals :
10. Reduced inequalities 3. Good health and well-being
H2020 - 803239 - CRISP - Cognitive Aging: From Educational Opportunities to Individual Risk Profiles
Funders :
ERC - European Research Council [BE] Swedish Research Council [SE] Union Européenne [BE]
Funding text :
This work was supported by The Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare [grant number 2020-00071]; the European Research Council [grant number 803239].
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