Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Gonçalves, Natalia G
• Avila, Jaqueline Contrera
• Bertola, Laiss
• Obregon, Alejandra Michaels
• Ferri, Cleusa P
• Wong, Rebeca
• Suemoto, Claudia Kimie

Titel

Education and cognitive function among older adults in Brazil and Mexico

Ist Teil von

• Alzheimer's & dementia, 2023-12, Vol.19 (S23), p.n/a

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Background Education is a protective factor against cognitive impairment. Research on education and cognitive function has focused on high‐income countries, where education is higher. Thus, it is important to investigate this association in a context of lower education levels, such as the one in middle‐income countries. We use nationally representative data from the two largest countries in Latin America, Mexico and Brazil, to assess the benefits of education for cognitive function, and assess how sex and country modify this relationship. Methods The sample included adults 50 years or older from the 2015 waves of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI) (n = 9,412) and the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) (n = 14,779). Participants were classified as cognitively impaired or not impaired using cognitive performance scores and a regression‐based approach. Education was categorized as 0, 1‐4, 5‐8, or >8 years of education. We used logistic regression models to estimate the association of education with cognitive function adjusted for sociodemographic variables, chronic diseases, and health behaviors. We also investigated the modifying effec of sex and country by adding an interaction term in the fully adjusted model. Results Participants of the ELSI had mean age 62.5±9.8 years, 54% were women, 13.3% had no formal education, and 6% were categorized as cognitively impaired. Participants of the MHAS had mean age 64.8±9.7 years, 55% were women, 18% had no formal education, and 5% were categorized as cognitively impaired (Table 1). Individuals with at least one year of education were less likely to have cognitive impairment than those with no formal education in both countries, with the highest reduction in the >8 years category, followed by the 1‐4 and the 5‐8 education categories (Table 2). We found a three‐way interaction effect of education with country and sex (p<0.001). Men in the MHAS had lower odds of cognitive impairment than men in the ELSI at all levels of education, but there was no difference for women (Figure 1). Conclusion Higher educational level was associated with lower odds of cognitive impairment in both countries. Men in Brazil had higher odds for cognitive impairment compared with men in Mexico.