Independent Effects Of Education Research Articles

Cognition at age 70: Life course predictors and associations with brain pathologies.

ObjectiveTo investigate predictors of performance on a range of cognitive measures including the Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite (PACC) and test for associations between cognition and dementia biomarkers in Insight 46, a substudy of the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development.MethodsA total of 502 individuals born in the same week in 1946 underwent cognitive assessment at age 69–71 years, including an adapted version of the PACC and a test of nonverbal reasoning. Performance was characterized with respect to sex, childhood cognitive ability, education, and socioeconomic position (SEP). In a subsample of 406 cognitively normal participants, associations were investigated between cognition and β-amyloid (Aβ) positivity (determined from Aβ-PET imaging), whole brain volumes, white matter hyperintensity volumes (WMHV), and APOE ε4.ResultsChildhood cognitive ability was strongly associated with cognitive scores including the PACC more than 60 years later, and there were independent effects of education and SEP. Sex differences were observed on every PACC subtest. In cognitively normal participants, Aβ positivity and WMHV were independently associated with lower PACC scores, and Aβ positivity was associated with poorer nonverbal reasoning. Aβ positivity and WMHV were not associated with sex, childhood cognitive ability, education, or SEP. Normative data for 339 cognitively normal Aβ-negative participants are provided.ConclusionsThis study adds to emerging evidence that subtle cognitive differences associated with Aβ deposition are detectable in older adults, at an age when dementia prevalence is very low. The independent associations of childhood cognitive ability, education, and SEP with cognitive performance at age 70 have implications for interpretation of cognitive data in later life.

Age 7 intelligence and paternal education appear best predictors of educational attainment: The Port Pirie Cohort Study

ObjectiveThe number of years of education an individual completes is related to their future morbidity and mortality. There are obvious drivers for educational attainment such as childhood intellect, parental intelligence and education attainment, as well as socioeconomic status; and associations may be age‐dependent. We investigated associations between intelligence across childhood (collected at two, four, seven and between eleven and thirteen years) and educational attainment (total years) by the late 20s in the Port Pirie Cohort Study, taking into account maternal intelligence, parental schooling and occupational prestige.MethodThere were 388 individuals from the population‐based longitudinal Port Pirie Cohort Study (South Australia) who provided educational attainment data in the 2008‐9 data collection wave. A Structural Equation Model was employed to test associations between educational attainment and childhood cognitive/IQ measures, taking into account parental factors of IQ, schooling and socioeconomic status.ResultsThe vast majority of variables displayed significant simple correlations with each other in expected directions, e.g. child cognitive/IQ measures with maternal IQ. In the full structural equation model, paternal schooling and child intelligence at seven years were the only variables significantly related to educational attainment by the late 20s; maternal intelligence was strongly associated with early life but not adolescent intelligence.ConclusionsThese findings highlight the complex inter‐generational transmission of social advantages, and substantiate the independent effects of education and intelligence on later morbidly and mortality.

The socioeconomic determinants of myocardial infarction incidence, pre-hospital mortality and fatality

Background Lower socioeconomic position (SEP) has been associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) incidence, mortality and fatality. However, different dimensions of SEP may have varying impacts at different stages of the disease. Methods We compared the independent effects of education, occupational class, household disposable income and taxable wealth in MI incidence, pre-hospital mortality and fatality after hospitalization in a large nationally representative sample from Finland. 40-60 year old men and women without prior CHD at baseline …

Rural to Urban Migration and Household Living Conditions in Bangladesh

This study examines the relationships between rural to urban migration status and household living conditions, using the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) data. The analysis finds significant living condition advantage of rural-urban migrants and urban natives over rural-natives, primarily linked to migration selectivity by education and occupation. Once the independent effects of education and occupation are controlled, association between migration status and living conditions remain significant but living condition advantage of rural-urban migrants and urban natives over rural natives fall down. The results imply that promoting higher education and opportunities for employment outside the agricultural or labour sectors (pull factor) are more likely to yield improved living conditions in Bangladesh.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/dujs.v60i2.11529 Dhaka Univ. J. Sci. 60(2): 253-257, 2012 (July)

Interrelationships between education, occupational social class, and income as determinants of disability retirement

The association between a low socioeconomic position and disability retirement is established in the literature, but the interrelationships between various subdomains of socioeconomic position are poorly understood. We examined the independent and interdependent effects of education, social class, and income on disability retirement. Using nationally representative register data we followed up over 260,000 Finns aged 30-63 at the end of 1995 for disability retirement from 1996 to 2004. Cox regression analysis was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and relative indices of inequality (RII). Each socioeconomic indicator had a linear negative association with disability retirement. The socioeconomic gradients were stronger in the younger age groups. The effect of education was largely mediated through succeeding social class. Social class was largely explained by preceding education, but was only moderately mediated through income. Income was largely explained by education, and even further by social class. The independent effects of education, social class, and income on disability retirement as measured by the RII were 1.74 (95% CI 1.60-1.90), 1.95 (1.78-2.15), and 1.35 (1.25-1.47) for men and 1.76 (1.61-1.92), 2.14 (1.95-2.34), and 1.14 (1.05-1.24) for women. The effects of socioeconomic position on disability retirement may not be fully captured if the pathways between the various subdomains are disregarded. Our results suggest that efforts to delay and prevent disability retirement should focus on lifestyle and cognitive factors associated with education, as well as on factors associated with social class such as working conditions and power resources.

P4‐313: Age of dementia onset delayed by bilingualism, but advanced by stroke

High educational status and complex mental activities are thought to delay onset of dementia, while vascular risk factors increase dementia risk. It is still unclear how these different biological and lifestyle factors interact to impact dementia risk. India is characterised by heterogeneity in educational status, widespread bilingualism and high cardiovascular risk burden, providing a unique opportunity to study lifestyle and biological factors that protect or increase risk of dementia. We aimed to investigate the association between educational status, bilingualism and cardiovascular risk factors on age of dementia onset, subtypes and severity. 347 consecutive dementia patients in a hospital based registry (Alzheimer's disease (AD)-133, Vascular dementia (VaD)-88, Frontotemporal dementia (FTD)-65, Lewy Body Dementia (DLB)-31, Mixed Dementia-30) were evaluated for presence of vascular risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, smoking, alcoholism, cardiac disease and stroke), bilingualism and years of education. 59% of subjects were bilingual and 16% were illiterate. Effect of these factors on age of dementia onset, subtype, and severity were studied. Independent effects of education, vascular risk factors and bilingualism on age of onset of dementia were analysed by linear regression analysis. Bilingualism was associated with a 3.9 year delay in onset of dementia compared with monolingualism. Bilingualism was related to a later age of onset of AD and FTD, but not VaD, mixed dementia and DLB. Higher educational status was found to relate to a later onset. Among cardiovascular risk factors, stroke was strongly associated with younger age of onset of dementia. Effect of other vascular risk factors on age of onset was not significant. Severity of dementia was associated with low educational status and monolingualism. Linear regression analysis revealed that bilingualism (p = 0.002) and stroke (p = 0.008) and not educational status had an independent effect on age of onset. In this large series of dementia patients, bilingualism more than educational status was found to independently delay age of onset of dementia, especially AD and FTD. Stroke was strongly associated with earlier age of onset. The study provides insights into interaction between biological and lifestyle protective and risk factors in impacting dementia burden.

A survey of ethnocentrism in australia

A sample (n=1066) representative of New South Wales and Victoria, Australia, responded to an attitude questionnaire containing 24 items of “An Australian Ethnocentrism Scale” (Beswick and Hills, 1969). Lower ethnocentrism was strongly correlated with independent effects of education, urbanization and immigration. Increasing acceptance by young people of foreign colour and beliefs is inferred. Reliability and validity of the scale are demonstrated, and norms for an Australian population are supplied. It is suggested that ethnocentrism, while shown by the study to be still a viable theoretical entity, is decreasing in its influence on Australian society.