IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/geronb/v78y2023i3p556-569..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Association Between Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Cognitive Function Among Adults Aged 45 and Older in China

Author

Listed:
  • Kai Hu
  • Jo Mhairi Hale
  • Hill Kulu
  • Yang Liu
  • Katherine Keenan
  • Jessica Kelley

Abstract

ObjectivesEvidence suggests long-term exposure to fine particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) is associated with a higher risk of cognitive impairment, especially among older adults. This study examines the relationship between PM2.5 exposure and cognitive function in China’s aging population.MethodsWe used longitudinal data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011–2015) linked with historical PM2.5 concentrations (2000–2015) from remotely sensed satellite data. Growth curve models were applied to estimate associations between PM2.5 exposure (measured in intensity, duration, and a joint variable of intensity with duration for cumulative exposure) and cognitive function.ResultsRelative to the lowest exposure group, exposure in the second group of PM2.5 intensity (35–50 μg/m3) is associated with poorer cognitive function, but higher levels of PM2.5 appear to be associated with better cognitive function, indicating a U-shaped association. Similar patterns are seen for fully adjusted models of PM2.5 duration: the second group (13–60 months) is associated with worse cognitive function than the first group (0–12 months), but coefficients are nonsignificant in longer duration groups. Joint analysis of PM2.5 intensity with duration suggests that duration may play a more detrimental role in cognitive function than intensity. However, we do not find a statistically significant association between PM2.5 exposure and the rate of cognitive decline.DiscussionOur findings are mixed and suggest that some categories of higher and longer exposure to PM2.5 are associated with poorer cognitive function, while that exposures do not hasten cognitive decline. However, more work is necessary to disentangle PM2.5 exposure from individuals’ background characteristics, particularly those jointly associated with cognitive function and urban living.

Suggested Citation

  • Kai Hu & Jo Mhairi Hale & Hill Kulu & Yang Liu & Katherine Keenan & Jessica Kelley, 2023. "A Longitudinal Analysis of the Association Between Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Cognitive Function Among Adults Aged 45 and Older in China," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 78(3), pages 556-569.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:geronb:v:78:y:2023:i:3:p:556-569.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/geronb/gbac162
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kathleen A. Cagney & Diane S. Lauderdale, 2002. "Education, Wealth, and Cognitive Function in Later Life," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 57(2), pages 163-172.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Nicole Schneeweis & Vegard Skirbekk & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2012. "Does schooling improve cognitive functioning at older ages?," Economics working papers 2012-11, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    2. Casanova, Maria & Aguila, Emma, 2020. "Gender differences in cognitive function among older Mexican immigrants," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 16(C).
    3. Magron, Camille & Merli, Maxime, 2015. "Repurchase behavior of individual investors, sophistication and regret," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 15-26.
    4. Jürgen Maurer, 2011. "Education and Male-Female Differences in Later-Life Cognition: International Evidence From Latin America and the Caribbean," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(3), pages 915-930, August.
    5. Hajat, A. & Kaufman, J.S. & Rose, K.M. & Siddiqi, A. & Thomas, J.C., 2010. "Do the wealthy have a health advantage? Cardiovascular disease risk factors and wealth," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(11), pages 1935-1942, December.
    6. Jinkook Lee & Regina A. Shih & Kevin Carter Feeney & Kenneth M Langa, 2011. "Cognitive Health of Older Indians Individual and Geographic Determinants of Female Disadvantage," Working Papers 889, RAND Corporation.
    7. Lee, Min-Ah, 2011. "Disparity in disability between native-born non-Hispanic white and foreign-born Asian older adults in the United States: Effects of educational attainment and age at immigration," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(8), pages 1249-1257, April.
    8. Nicole Schneeweis & Vegard Skirbekk & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2014. "Does Education Improve Cognitive Performance Four Decades After School Completion?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(2), pages 619-643, April.
    9. Qian Liu & Lance Lochner & Youngmin Park & Youngki Shin, 2020. "Returns to Skill and the Evolution of Skills for Older Men," University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP) Working Papers 20205, University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP).
    10. Nicholas J. Bishop & Natalie D. Eggum-Wilkens & Steven A. Haas & Jennie J. Kronenfeld, 2016. "Estimating the Co-Development of Cognitive Decline and Physical Mobility Limitations in Older U.S. Adults," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(2), pages 337-364, April.
    11. Jo Mhairi Hale, 2017. "Cognitive Disparities: The Impact of the Great Depression and Cumulative Inequality on Later-Life Cognitive Function," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(6), pages 2125-2158, December.
    12. Padmaja Ayyagari & David Frisvold, 2015. "The Impact of Social Security Income on Cognitive Function at Older Ages," NBER Working Papers 21484, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. John McArdle, 2011. "Longitudinal dynamic analyses of cognition in the health and retirement study panel," AStA Advances in Statistical Analysis, Springer;German Statistical Society, vol. 95(4), pages 453-480, December.
    14. Jennifer Whillans & James Nazroo & Katey Matthews, 2016. "Trajectories of vision in older people: the role of age and social position," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 171-184, June.
    15. Weir, David & Lay, Margaret & Langa, Kenneth, 2014. "Economic development and gender inequality in cognition: A comparison of China and India, and of SAGE and the HRS sister studies," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 4(C), pages 114-125.
    16. Glei, Dana A. & Lee, Chioun & Weinstein, Maxine, 2022. "Income, wealth, and Black-White disparities in cognition," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    17. Das, Sumit Kumar & Mishra, Udaya S. & Das, Milan & Das, Pritilata, 2022. "Perceptions of gender norms and sex-typed cognitive abilities among Indian adolescents – A study of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    18. Jinkook Lee & Regina A. Shih & Kevin Carter Feeney & Kenneth M Langa, 2011. "Cognitive Health of Older Indians Individual and Geographic Determinants of Female Disadvantage," Working Papers WR-889, RAND Corporation.
    19. Qingyuan Xue & Nopphol Witvorapong, 2022. "Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Aging People’s Health in China," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 476-488, September.
    20. Schaan, Barbara, 2014. "The interaction of family background and personal education on depressive symptoms in later life," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 94-102.

    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:oup:geronb:v:78:y:2023:i:3:p:556-569.. 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: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology .

    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.