Age is no kinder to the better educated: absence of an association investigated using latent growth techniques in a community sample
Age is no kinder to the better educated: absence of an association investigated using latent growth techniques in a community sample
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DOI：
10.1017/s0033291799002834
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发表时间：
2001-01-01
影响因子：
6.9
通讯作者：
Henderson, AS
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Christensen, H;Hofer, SM;Henderson, AS
背景高等教育被认为可以防止认知能力下降，这要么是因为受过高等教育的人下降的速度较慢，要么是因为下降的开始时间推迟了。潜在增长模型提供了改进的方法来研究这个问题。样本包括1991年的887名70-93岁的参与者，并在1994年和1998年进行了随访。在控制健康状况和性别的同时，使用潜在增长模型和标准回归技术来检查四项认知测量中的认知下降率。延迟启动模型通过在回归模型中引入交互作用进行了检验。无论是潜在增长模型还是回归技术都没有显示出受教育程度较高的人下降速度较慢。受教育程度高的人没有变化的比例并不比受教育程度低的人大。有没有显着的年龄受教育的相互作用的影响，没有按时间顺序的变化率作为一个功能的教育后加速，并在第一次测量间隔和第二次之间的下降率没有差异。教育可能不能防止认知能力下降，尽管它与功能水平的长期个体差异有关。我们的研究与其他研究之间的差异可能归因于损耗效应、随访时间、样本年龄、缩放伪影和负出版偏倚。最重要的是，实践效果可能有利于受过良好教育的人，因此在许多认知变化的纵向研究中解释了所谓的保护作用。
Background. Higher education has been posited to protect against cognitive decline, either because the rate of decline is slower in the more highly educated or the start of decline is delayed. Latent growth models provide improved methodology to examine this issue.Methods. The sample consisted of 887 participants aged 70-93 years in 1991 and followed up in 1994 and 1998. Latent growth models and standard regression techniques were used to examine the rate of cognitive decline in four cognitive measures while controlling for health status and sex. A delayed start model was examined by incorporating interaction effects in a regression model.Results. Neither the latent growth models nor the regression techniques revealed a slower rate of decline for the more highly educated. The proportion of the highly educated showing no change was no larger than the proportion of the less well educated. There were no significant age by education interaction effects, no chronologically later accelerations in the rate of change as a function of education, and no differences in rate of decline between the first measurement interval and the second.Conclusions. Education may not protect against cognitive decline although it is associated with long-term individual differences in level of functioning. The discrepancy between our study and others may be attributable to attrition effects, follow-up length, sample age, scaling artefacts and negative publication bias. Most importantly, practice effects may favour the better educated and hence account for the supposed protective effect in many longitudinal studies of cognitive change.