IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i7p2418-d340502.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Stronger Increases in Cognitive Functions among Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Older Adults in China: A Longitudinal Analysis with Multiple Birth Cohorts

Author

Listed:
  • Fan Yang

    (School of International Pharmaceutical Business, China Pharmaceutical University, No.639 Longmian Str, Jiangning District, Nanjing 211198, China)

  • Jiangling Cao

    (School of Health Policy & Management, Nanjing Medical University, 101 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 210029, China)

  • Dongfu Qian

    (School of Health Policy & Management, Nanjing Medical University, 101 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 210029, China)

  • Aixia Ma

    (School of International Pharmaceutical Business, China Pharmaceutical University, No.639 Longmian Str, Jiangning District, Nanjing 211198, China)

Abstract

Highly variable changes in cognitive functions occur as people get older, and socio-economically disadvantaged older adults are more likely to suffer from cognitive decline. This study aims to identify the longitudinal trend in cognitive functions among different socio-economic groups of older adults. The Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) followed up 32,323 individuals aged 65 years and older over a 12-year period. A series of mixed-effects models was used to explicitly assess cohort trend and its socio-economic disparity in the cognitive functions of older adults. Scores for significant increase in cognitive functions by birth cohort were smaller by 0.49, 0.28, and 0.64 among older adults with more educational experience, a lower household income, or economic dependence relative to their counterparts. Scores for differences in cognitive function between older adults with higher and lower incomes were smaller by 0.46 among those living in urban areas than among those living in rural areas. Although there were larger cohort growth trends in cognitive functions among older adults with lower educational attainment, lower household income, and who were economically dependent, effective public intervention targeting these socio-economically disadvantaged populations is still necessary.

Suggested Citation

  • Fan Yang & Jiangling Cao & Dongfu Qian & Aixia Ma, 2020. "Stronger Increases in Cognitive Functions among Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Older Adults in China: A Longitudinal Analysis with Multiple Birth Cohorts," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-13, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:7:p:2418-:d:340502
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/7/2418/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/7/2418/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zeng Yi & James W. Vaupel & Xiao Zhenyu & Zhang Chunyuan & Liu Yuzhi, 2002. "Sociodemographic and Health Profiles of the Oldest Old In China," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 28(2), pages 251-273, June.
    2. Rachel Murphy & Ran Tao & Xi Lu, 2011. "Son Preference in Rural China: Patrilineal Families and Socioeconomic Change," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 37(4), pages 665-690, December.
    3. Pia Horvat & Marcus Richards & Sofia Malyutina & Andrzej Pajak & Ruzena Kubinova & Abdonas Tamosiunas & Hynek Pikhart & Anne Peasey & Michael G. Marmot & Martin Bobak, 2014. "Life Course Socioeconomic Position and Mid-Late Life Cognitive Function in Eastern Europe," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 69(3), pages 470-481.
    4. Zhenmei Zhang, 2006. "Gender Differentials in Cognitive Impairment and Decline of the Oldest Old in China," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 61(2), pages 107-115.
    5. Boyoung Park & Jonghan Park & Jae Kwan Jun, 2013. "Cognitive Impairment, Depression, Comorbidity of the Two and Associated Factors among the Early Sixties in a Rural Korean Community," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(11), pages 1-6, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cristina Gagliardi & Giovanni Lamura, 2021. "Special Issue on “Advances in Socio-Economic Research on Ageing”," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-6, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Le Yang & Jingmin Cheng & Hongman Wang, 2021. "Place of Residence and Cognitive Function in Older Adults in China: The Mediating Role of Social Participation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. 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.
    3. Li, Lydia W. & Zhang, Jiaan & Liang, Jersey, 2009. "Health among the oldest-old in China: Which living arrangements make a difference?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 220-227, January.
    4. Gu, Danan & Dupre, Matthew E. & Liu, Guangya, 2007. "Characteristics of the institutionalized and community-residing oldest-old in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 871-883, February.
    5. Hui Li & Chengyun Duan & Miao David Chunyu, 2021. "A Study of the Factors Influencing the Residential Preferences of the Elderly in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-20, May.
    6. Luo, Ye & Zhang, Zhenmei & Gu, Danan, 2015. "Education and mortality among older adults in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 134-142.
    7. Wang, Chunchao & Zhang, Chenglei & Ni, Jinlan & Zhang, Haifeng & Zhang, Junsen, 2019. "Family migration in China: Do migrant children affect parental settlement intention?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 416-428.
    8. 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).
    9. Shen, Ke & Wang, Feng & Cai, Yong, 2016. "Patterns of inequalities in public transfers by gender in China," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 8(C), pages 76-84.
    10. Chen, Shu & Ying, Sammy Xiaoyan & Wu, Huiying & You, Jiaxing, 2021. "Carrying on the family's legacy: Male heirs and firm innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    11. Angrisani, Marco & Lee, Jinkook & Meijer, Erik, 2020. "The gender gap in education and late-life cognition: Evidence from multiple countries and birth cohorts," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 16(C).
    12. Chae, Minhee & Cai, Yong & Kim, Jun Hyung & Lavely, William, 2023. "Unintended Consequences of Family Planning Policies on the Breastfeeding Gap between Sons and Daughters," IZA Discussion Papers 16190, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Ilke Onur & Malathi Velamuri, 2016. "A Life Course Perspective on Gender Differences in Cognitive Functioning in India," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(4), pages 520-563.
    14. Sor Tho Ng & Nai Peng Tey & M Niaz Asadullah, 2017. "What matters for life satisfaction among the oldest-old? Evidence from China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(2), pages 1-16, February.
    15. Yuanyuan Zhu & Yukuan Wang & Bin Fu & Qin Liu & Ming Li & Kun Yan, 2021. "How Are Rural Youths’ Agricultural Skills? Empirical Results and Implications in Southwest China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, September.
    16. Huo, Xuan & Gao, Qin & Zhai, Fuhua & Lin, Mingang, 2020. "Effects of welfare entry and exit on adolescent mental health: Evidence from panel data in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    17. Min Gao & Yanyu Li & Shengfa Zhang & Linni Gu & Jinsui Zhang & Zhuojun Li & Weijun Zhang & Donghua Tian, 2017. "Does an Empty Nest Affect Elders’ Health? Empirical Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, April.
    18. Wang, Haining & Cheng, Zhiming & Smyth, Russell, 2022. "Parental misbeliefs and household investment in children's education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    19. Guodong Chen & Xiaoyan Lei, 2009. "“Fertility effect” or “supporting effect?”—Quantity of children and parental health," Frontiers of Economics in China, Springer;Higher Education Press, vol. 4(4), pages 601-616, December.
    20. Wang, Haining & Cheng, Zhiming, 2022. "Kids eat free: School feeding and family spending on education," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 196-212.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:7:p:2418-:d:340502. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.