Abstract
The burden of dementia in China is expected to increase dramatically. This study aimed to estimate the potential impact of early parental death on cognitive functioning in late life and whether education is a possible mechanism underlying this association. Data were derived from the 2002 and 2005 waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. The final sample consisted of 10,953 Chinese older adults aged 80 to 105 years. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the impact of early parental death and education on the odds of severe cognitive impairment in older men and women. Results showed that experiencing the death of a mother at or before 16 years of age significantly increased the risk of severe cognitive impairment in older men (but not women), independent of demographic, socioeconomic, and physical health conditions. This association did not persist over a 3-year follow-up period and was not mediated by education. These findings provide further evidence that childhood trauma is associated with adverse adult health outcomes, in this case the death of a mother in early life and cognitive impairment in late life. Potential mechanisms that may link early parental death to worse cognitive functioning over the life course were discussed.
Highlights
Population aging is becoming a major social issue in many developing countries including China (Lloyd-Sherlock, 2000)
As a substantial proportion of these older adults might have experienced the death of a parent in childhood or adolescence due to wars and natural disasters in the early 20th century, this study aimed to investigate the impact of early parental death on cognitive functioning in late life
Univariate comparisons of the study variables suggest that a higher proportion of respondents experiencing early parental death were severely cognitively impaired in 2002 than those who did not experience early parental death
Summary
Population aging is becoming a major social issue in many developing countries including China (Lloyd-Sherlock, 2000). Due to the anticipated dramatic increase in dementia burden in China (Chan et al, 2013), more research is needed to understand the long-term contributors to cognitive functioning among Chinese older adults. Previous research has linked cognitive development to the social environment in both childhood and adult life (e.g., Fu, 2016; Norton et al, 2011; Zhang, Gu, & Hayward, 2008). The current study attempted to elucidate further the relationship between childhood adversity and cognitive functioning in a cohort of older adults born around the early 1900s. As a substantial proportion of these older adults might have experienced the death of a parent in childhood or adolescence due to wars and natural disasters in the early 20th century, this study aimed to investigate the impact of early parental death on cognitive functioning in late life
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