Jonathan Aseye Nutakor1, Baozhen Dai1, Jianzai Zhou2, Ebenezer Larnyo1, Alexander Kwame Gavu3, Maxwell Kwabena Asare4. 1. Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China. 2. Department of Finance and Insurance, School of Finance & Economics, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China. 3. University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho-Volta Region, Ghana. 4. Faculty of Business and Management, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Extensive analysis of the associations between socioeconomic status and cognition has been conducted among older adults. However, it is not clear whether associations in high-income countries are similar in low-and middle-income countries. This research aims to investigate the association between the socioeconomic status of older adults in Ghana and their cognitive function by using a sample of older adults that is nationally representative. METHODS: Data were obtained from a sample of older Ghanaian adults (50+) from the Study of Global AGEing and Adult Health Wave 1 (n = 3710) of the World Health Organization. Objectively, cognition was measured by verbal recall, verbal fluency, forward digit span, and backward digit span, while variations in cognition overall were evaluated against socioeconomic factors using linear regression. RESULTS: Older age, older women, rural life, increasing memory difficulty, and being diagnosed with stroke were the most significant determinants of impaired cognitive function. Higher education and higher income were significantly associated with a better cognitive function than those with no formal education and low income. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide new evidence for public health programs in Ghana and other low-and middle-income countries to tackle cognitive impairments in growing populations.
OBJECTIVES: Extensive analysis of the associations between socioeconomic status and cognition has been conducted among older adults. However, it is not clear whether associations in high-income countries are similar in low-and middle-income countries. This research aims to investigate the association between the socioeconomic status of older adults in Ghana and their cognitive function by using a sample of older adults that is nationally representative. METHODS: Data were obtained from a sample of older Ghanaian adults (50+) from the Study of Global AGEing and Adult Health Wave 1 (n = 3710) of the World Health Organization. Objectively, cognition was measured by verbal recall, verbal fluency, forward digit span, and backward digit span, while variations in cognition overall were evaluated against socioeconomic factors using linear regression. RESULTS: Older age, older women, rural life, increasing memory difficulty, and being diagnosed with stroke were the most significant determinants of impaired cognitive function. Higher education and higher income were significantly associated with a better cognitive function than those with no formal education and low income. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide new evidence for public health programs in Ghana and other low-and middle-income countries to tackle cognitive impairments in growing populations.