Kaori Fujishiro1, Leslie A MacDonald1, Michael Crowe2, Leslie A McClure3, Virginia J Howard4, Virginia G Wadley5. 1. Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio. 2. Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham. 3. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 4. Department of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham. 5. Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Positive associations between education and late-life cognition have been widely reported. This study examines whether occupational complexity mediates the relationship between education and late-life cognition, and whether the magnitude of mediation differs by race, gender, or education level. METHODS: Data were from a population-based cohort of non-Hispanic Blacks and Whites aged ≥45 years (n = 7,357). Education was categorized as less than high school, high school, some college, and college or higher. Using linear regression, we estimated the direct effect of each successive increase in education on cognitive functioning and indirect effects via substantive complexity of work. RESULTS: Occupational complexity significantly mediated 11%-22% of the cognitive gain associated with higher levels of education. The pattern of mediation varied between White men and all other race-gender groups: among White men, the higher the education, the greater the mediation effect by occupational complexity. Among Black men and women of both races, the higher the education, the smaller the mediation effect. DISCUSSION: Higher levels of education may provide opportunity for intellectually engaging environments throughout adulthood in the form of complex work, which may protect late-life cognition. However, this protective effect of occupational complexity may not occur equally across race-gender subgroups. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America 2017.
OBJECTIVE: Positive associations between education and late-life cognition have been widely reported. This study examines whether occupational complexity mediates the relationship between education and late-life cognition, and whether the magnitude of mediation differs by race, gender, or education level. METHODS: Data were from a population-based cohort of non-Hispanic Blacks and Whites aged ≥45 years (n = 7,357). Education was categorized as less than high school, high school, some college, and college or higher. Using linear regression, we estimated the direct effect of each successive increase in education on cognitive functioning and indirect effects via substantive complexity of work. RESULTS:Occupational complexity significantly mediated 11%-22% of the cognitive gain associated with higher levels of education. The pattern of mediation varied between White men and all other race-gender groups: among White men, the higher the education, the greater the mediation effect by occupational complexity. Among Black men and women of both races, the higher the education, the smaller the mediation effect. DISCUSSION: Higher levels of education may provide opportunity for intellectually engaging environments throughout adulthood in the form of complex work, which may protect late-life cognition. However, this protective effect of occupational complexity may not occur equally across race-gender subgroups. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America 2017.
Authors: Ziad S Nasreddine; Natalie A Phillips; Valérie Bédirian; Simon Charbonneau; Victor Whitehead; Isabelle Collin; Jeffrey L Cummings; Howard Chertkow Journal: J Am Geriatr Soc Date: 2005-04 Impact factor: 5.562
Authors: Virginia J Howard; Mary Cushman; Leavonne Pulley; Camilo R Gomez; Rodney C Go; Ronald J Prineas; Andra Graham; Claudia S Moy; George Howard Journal: Neuroepidemiology Date: 2005-06-29 Impact factor: 3.282
Authors: Ross Andel; Michael Crowe; Nancy L Pedersen; James Mortimer; Eileen Crimmins; Boo Johansson; Margaret Gatz Journal: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci Date: 2005-09 Impact factor: 4.077
Authors: Christopher M Callahan; Frederick W Unverzagt; Siu L Hui; Anthony J Perkins; Hugh C Hendrie Journal: Med Care Date: 2002-09 Impact factor: 2.983
Authors: Jinshil Hyun; Charles B Hall; Mindy J Katz; Carol A Derby; Darren M Lipnicki; John D Crawford; Antonio Guaita; Roberta Vaccaro; Annalisa Davin; Ki Woong Kim; Ji Won Han; Jong Bin Bae; Susanne Röhr; Steffi Riedel-Heller; Mary Ganguli; Erin Jacobsen; Tiffany F Hughes; Henry Brodaty; Nicole A Kochan; Julian Trollor; Antonio Lobo; Javier Santabarbara; Raul Lopez-Anton; Perminder S Sachdev; Richard B Lipton Journal: J Alzheimers Dis Date: 2022 Impact factor: 4.472
Authors: Kharine R Jean; Cutter A Lindbergh; Catherine M Mewborn; Talia L Robinson; Marissa A Gogniat; L Stephen Miller Journal: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci Date: 2019-10-04 Impact factor: 4.077
Authors: Mark D Hayward; Mateo P Farina; Yuan S Zhang; Jung Ki Kim; Eileen M Crimmins Journal: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci Date: 2021-10-30 Impact factor: 4.942
Authors: Fred Stephen Sarfo; Rufus Akinyemi; George Howard; Virginia J Howard; Kolawole Wahab; Mary Cushman; Deborah A Levine; Adesola Ogunniyi; Fred Unverzagt; Mayowa Owolabi; Bruce Ovbiagele Journal: J Neurol Sci Date: 2020-02-19 Impact factor: 4.553
Authors: Luenda E Charles; Desta Fekedulegn; Cecil M Burchfiel; Kaori Fujishiro; Adina Zeki Al Hazzouri; Annette L Fitzpatrick; Stephen R Rapp Journal: Saf Health Work Date: 2020-04-23
Authors: Michael A Flynn; Pietra Check; Andrea L Steege; Jacqueline M Sivén; Laura N Syron Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-12-29 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Kazi Ishtiak-Ahmed; Åse Marie Hansen; Erik Lykke Mortensen; Anne Helene Garde; Ane Nørgaard; Finn Gyntelberg; Naja Hulvej Rod; Sabrina Islamoska; Rikke Lund; Thien Kieu Thi Phung; Eva Prescott; Gunhild Waldemar; Kirsten Nabe-Nielsen Journal: Int Arch Occup Environ Health Date: 2018-10-28 Impact factor: 3.015