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Influence of young adult cognitive ability and additional education on later-life cognition
Open accessAbstract
How and when education improves cognitive capacity is an issue of profound societal importance. Education and later-life education-related factors, such as occupational complexity and engagement in cognitive-intellectual activities, are frequently considered indices of cognitive reserve, but whether their effects are truly causal remains unclear. In this study, after accounting for general cognitive ability (GCA) at an average age of 20 y, additional education, occupational complexity, or engagement in cognitive-intellectual activities accounted for little variance in late midlife cognitive functioning in men age 56–66 ( n = 1009). Age 20 GCA accounted for 40% of variance in the same measure in late midlife and approximately 10% of variance in each of seven cognitive domains. The other factors each accounted for <1% of the variance in cognitive outcomes. The impact of these other factors likely reflects reverse causation—namely, downstream effects of early adult GCA. Supporting that idea, age 20 GCA, but not education, was associated with late midlife cortical surface area ( n = 367). In our view, the most parsimonious explanation of our results, a meta-analysis of the impact of education, and epidemiologic studies of the Flynn effect is that intellectual capacity gains due to education plateau in late adolescence/early adulthood. Longitudinal studies with multiple cognitive assessments before completion of education would be needed to confirm this speculation. If cognitive gains reach an asymptote by early adulthood, then strengthening cognitive reserve and reducing later-life cognitive decline and dementia risk may really begin with improving educational quality and access in childhood and adolescence.
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“New work suggests overall cognitive ability increases, with education, before reaching a plateau in late adolescence, when brain reaches greatest plasticity; with relatively few further gains with education after age 20 years.38”
From Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission (2020) · cites this paper as [38]
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“It is difficult to separate out the specific impact of education from the effect of overall cognitive ability,38, 39 and the specific impact of later-life cognitive activity from lifelong cognitive function and activity.39, 40”
From Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission (2020) · cites this paper as [38]
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“This suggests cognitive stimulation is more important in early life; much of the apparent later effect might be due to people of higher cognitive function seeking out cognitively stimulating activities and education.38”
From Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission (2020) · cites this paper as [38]
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Cites
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“They are also frequently used as indices of cognitive reserve (7); for example, higher education is associated with greater resistance to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology (4, 8).”
BackgroundSocial Class and Mental Illness: A Community Study
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Cited by
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Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission
Livingston, G., Huntley, J., Sommerlad, A., Ames, D., Ballard, C., Banerjee, S., Brayne, C., Burns, A., Cohen-Mansfield, J., Cooper, C., et al. (2020) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30367-6 · Cited by 10,430
“38 This suggests cognitive stimulation is more important in early life; much of the apparent later effect might be due to people of higher cognitive function seeking out cognitively stimulating activities and education.”
RetractedBrain energy rescue: an emerging therapeutic concept for neurodegenerative disorders of ageing
Cunnane, S. C., Trushina, E., Morland, C., Prigione, A., Casadesus, G., Andrews, Z. B., Beal, M. F., Bergersen, L. H., Brinton, R. D., de la Monte, S., et al. (2020) · Nature Reviews Drug Discovery · doi:10.1038/s41573-020-0072-x · Cited by 1,003
Dementia Prevention and Treatment
Reuben, D. B., Kremen, S. A., & Maust, D. T. (2024) · JAMA Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.8522 · Cited by 225
Timing of lifespan influences on brain and cognition
Walhovd, K. B., Lövden, M., & Fjell, A. M. (2023) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2023.07.001 · Cited by 112
Cognitive reserve and brain maintenance in aging and dementia: An integrative review
Pereira, G. Á., Nunes, M. V. S., Alzola, P., & Contador, I. (2021) · Applied Neuropsychology Adult · doi:10.1080/23279095.2021.1872079 · Cited by 91
Metadata
- Authors
- Kremen, W. S., Beck, A., Elman, J. A., Gustavson, D. E., Reynolds, C. A., Tu, X. M., Sanderson-Cimino, M. E., Panizzon, M. S., Vuoksimaa, E., Toomey, R., Fennema-Notestine, C., Hagler, D. J., Fang, B., Dale, A. M., Lyons, M. J., & Franz, C. E.
- Affiliations
- University of California San Diego (US)
- San Diego State University (US)
- University of California, Riverside (US)
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093;
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- Boston University (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2019-01-22
- Volume
- 116
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 2021-2026
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC6369818
- OpenAlex
- W2913301193
- Cited by
- 180
- References
- 61
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 9
- FWCI
- 23.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- HHS | NIH | National Institute on Aging (AG050595, AG022381, AG022982, AG046413, AG047903, AG059329)
- Academy of Finland | Biotieteiden ja Ympäristön Tutkimuksen Toimikunta (314639)
- Vainio Foundation (No number)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- general intelligence, additional education, cognitive reserve, later-life cognition, occupational complexity, reverse causality, cortical surface area, Flynn effect, cognitive decline, dementia risk, educational quality
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Aged, Cognition, Cognition Disorders, Dementia, Education, Humans, Life Style, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Young Adult, Cognitive Reserve, Cognitive Dysfunction
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