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Childhood nutritional deprivation and cognitive impairment among older Chinese people

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  • Zhang, Zhenmei
  • Gu, Danan
  • Hayward, Mark D.

Abstract

Late-life cognitive impairment may have its origins in childhood. Here, we examine the associations between markers of childhood nutritional deprivation and cognitive impairment in older adults. We made use of the 2002 and 2005 waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey to examine these associations for persons aged 65-105 (N = 15,444). Anthropometric measures (arm length, knee height) and self-reported hunger were used to measure early-life nutritional deficiencies. Cognitive impairment was measured using the Chinese version of the Mini Mental State Examination. Results from multivariate logistic regression models show that both anthropometric measures and self-report markers of early-life nutritional status were significantly associated with the odds of cognitive impairment at baseline for both men and women after controlling for age and ethnicity. Adjustments for childhood and adulthood socioeconomic status, adulthood health, and lifestyle habits had little effect on these associations except for the effect of hunger among men. Results from multinomial logistic regression models show that during the three-year follow-up period, arm length was significantly associated with the onset of cognitive impairment after controlling for various confounders in men, but not in women. Our findings suggest that early-life nutritional deprivation may contribute to cognitive impairment among older Chinese adults.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Zhenmei & Gu, Danan & Hayward, Mark D., 2010. "Childhood nutritional deprivation and cognitive impairment among older Chinese people," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(5), pages 941-949, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:71:y:2010:i:5:p:941-949
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    4. Daniel Ramirez & Steven A. Haas, 2022. "Windows of Vulnerability: Consequences of Exposure Timing during the Dutch Hunger Winter," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 48(4), pages 959-989, December.
    5. Yu, Xuexin & Zhang, Wei & Kobayashi, Lindsay C., 2021. "Duration of subjective poverty in relation to subsequent cognitive performance and decline among adults aged ≥64 in China, 2005–2018," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    6. Zhang, Zhenmei & Liu, Hui & Choi, Seung-won, 2020. "Early-life socioeconomic status, adolescent cognitive ability, and cognition in late midlife: Evidence from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    7. Staff, R.T. & Chapko, D. & Hogan, M.J. & Whalley, L.J., 2016. "Life course socioeconomic status and the decline in information processing speed in late life," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 130-138.
    8. Ko, Pei-Chun & Yeung, Wei-Jun Jean, 2019. "Childhood conditions and productive aging in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 60-69.
    9. Chen, Wen-Yi, 2016. "On the relationship between economic conditions around the time of birth and late life cognitive abilities: Evidence from Taiwan," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 126-139.
    10. Kobayashi, Lindsay C. & Glymour, M. Maria & Kahn, Kathleen & Payne, Collin F. & Wagner, Ryan G. & Montana, Livia & Mateen, Farrah J. & Tollman, Stephen M. & Berkman, Lisa F., 2017. "Childhood deprivation and later-life cognitive function in a population-based study of older rural South Africans," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 20-28.
    11. Juan Li & Hanzhang Xu & Wei Pan & Bei Wu, 2017. "Association between tooth loss and cognitive decline: A 13-year longitudinal study of Chinese older adults," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(2), pages 1-12, February.

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