Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society

Table of Contents - November 2011 - Volume 17, Issue 06  

Regular Articles

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

Laura B. Zahodnea1 c1, M. Maria Glymoura2, Catharine Sparksa3, Daniel Bontempoa4, Roger A. Dixona5, Stuart W.S. MacDonalda3 and Jennifer J. Manlya6

a1 Department of Clinical & Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

a2 Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

a3 Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia

a4 Center for Biobehavioral Neurosciences in Communication Disorders, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

a5 Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

a6 Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and The Aging Brain, and Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York

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)

(Received March 06 2011)

(Revised July 04 2011)

(Accepted July 05 2011)

Keywords

  • Cognitive reserve;
  • Memory;
  • Short term;
  • Mental recall;
  • Language;
  • Reaction time

Correspondence:

c1 Correspondence and reprint requests to: Laura B. Zahodne, Department of Clinical & Health Psychology, University of Florida, PO Box 100165, Gainesville, Florida 32610. E-mail: lzahodne@phhp.ufl.edu

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