Life Course Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Cognitive Function Among the Elderly Population of Seven Capitals in Latin America and the Caribbean

Objectives: To examine the influence of life course socioeconomic disadvantages (SED) on cognitive function in later life. Method: Data originate from a survey of people 60 and older living in seven Latin American and Caribbean cities. Cognitive function was measured with a modified Mini-Mental Stat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of aging and health Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 347 - 362
Main Authors Cat Tuong Nguyen, Couture, Marie-Claude, Alvarado, Beatriz E., Zunzunegui, Maria-Victoria
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.04.2008
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Aged - statistics & numerical data
Aging
Caribbean
Caribbean Region
Cities
Cognition
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive ability
Cognitive Functioning
Elderly
Epidemiology
Female
Gender differences
Health Status
Health technology assessment
Homogeneity
Humans
Latin America
Learning disabilities
Male
Mental Competency
Older people
Population Groups
Poverty
Socioeconomic Factors
Socioeconomic Status
Caribbean Region
Latin America
Caribbean area
socioeconomic disadvantage
life course epidemiology
cognitive impairment
aging
Caribbean
Latin America
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Summary:Objectives: To examine the influence of life course socioeconomic disadvantages (SED) on cognitive function in later life. Method: Data originate from a survey of people 60 and older living in seven Latin American and Caribbean cities. Cognitive function was measured with a modified Mini-Mental State Examination and the Pfeffer Scale of Functional Capacity. Homogeneity tests were used to pool data. Associations between cognitive function and SED were evaluated, fitting logistic regressions. Results: Cognitive impairment (CI) prevalence ranged from 0.3% to 6.5% in men and 1.2% to 10.1% in women. Childhood rural living, poor childhood health, illiteracy, housewife or farmer occupation, and insufficient income were associated with CI in all seven cities. The odds of CI increase with cumulative exposure to disadvantages along life course. Conclusions: Life course SED is related to cognitive function later in life. Difficulty in properly distinguishing cognitive function from test performance remains an issue.
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ISSN:0898-2643
1552-6887
DOI:10.1177/0898264308315430