More Education May Limit Disability and Extend Life For People With Cognitive Impairment

We examined associations among education, disability, and life expectancy for people with cognitive impairment, following a 1992 cohort ages 55+ for 23 063 person-years (Panel Study of Income Dynamics, n = 2165). We estimated monthly probabilities of disability and death for 7 education levels, adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, and cognitive status. We used the probabilities to simulate populations with age-specific cognitive impairment incidence and monthly disability status through death. For those with cognitive impairment, education was associated with longer life and less disability. Among them, college-educated white women lived 3.2 more years than those with <8 years education, disabled 24.4% of life from age 55 compared with 36.7% (P < .0001). Increasing education will lengthen lives. Living longer, more people will have cognitive impairment. Education may limit their risk of disability and its duration.
Source: American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Tags: Current Topics in Research Source Type: research