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Cited by 339Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchCognitive Abilities and TestingAging and Gerontology Research

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

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Zahodne, Laura B., Glymour, M. Maria, Sparks, Catharine, Bontempo, Daniel, Dixon, Roger A., MacDonald, Stuart W.S., Manly, Jennifer J.·2011·Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
DOI 10.1017/s1355617711001044PMC PMC3285821
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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. Fewer studies have explored whether education exerts different effects on longitudinal changes within different cognitive domains. In the present study, we analyzed data from 1014 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, 54–95 years) and gender, we found that years of education (range, 6–20 years) 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. (JINS, 2011, 17, 1039–1046)

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  • Socioeconomic factors tend to influence initial cognitive scores (intercepts) rather than the change in cognitive scores over time (slopes).

    “However, studies suggest that socioeconomic factors tend to influence initial cognitive scores (ie, intercepts) rather than the change in cognitive scores over time (slopes).55,56”

    From Sex differences in cognitive decline among US adults (2021) · cites this paper as [56]

    The Results section reports that higher education was associated with better baseline performance in all four cognitive domains but was unrelated to rates of decline. This supports the intercept-versus-slope distinction for education, but the paper does not establish it for socioeconomic factors generally. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Authors
Zahodne, L. B., Glymour, M. M., Sparks, C., Bontempo, D., Dixon, R. A., MacDonald, S. W. S., & Manly, J. J.
Affiliations
  • University of Florida Health (US)
  • Harvard University (US)
  • University of Victoria (CA)
  • University of Kansas (US)
  • University of Alberta (CA)
  • Columbia University Irving Medical Center (US)
Corresponding author
Zahodne, Laura B.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2011-09-19
Volume
17
Issue
6
Pages
1039-1046
ISSN
  • 1355-6177 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-7661
DOI
10.1017/s1355617711001044
PMC
PMC3285821
OpenAlex
W2140502052
Cited by
339
References
10
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 37 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 38 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 12
FWCI
12.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • UVic’s Research and Learning Repository (University of Victoria) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • National Institute on Aging (R37AG008235, R13AG030995, AG026453, R01AG026453, T32AG020499)
  • National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (P30DC005803)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
Keywords
education, cognitive decline, aging, verbal fluency, processing speed, working memory, episodic memory, cognitive domain, late-life cognition
MeSH terms
Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Cognition Disorders, Educational Status, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Mental Recall, Sex Factors, Statistics as Topic, Victoria, Likelihood Functions

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