IMPACT OF EDUCATION AND INCOME ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES

摘要

Previous studies have shown that higher education, in sense of a cognitive reserve, promotes a good cognitive health. Poverty, on the other hand, represents a threat to health. We therefore investigated whether a cognitive reserve (higher education) would still enhance cognitive functioning under the constraints of poverty (low income). Our analyses were based on a sample of 45,000 individuals from low- and middle-income countries who participated in the World Health Organization’s multi-country Study on global AGEing and adult health (WHO SAGE). Multivariate regression analyses and structural equation modelling (adjusted for childhood socioeconomic conditions, health state, age, gender, and country) revealed that higher education as well as higher income was significantly associated with a better cognitive functioning – with similar effects in middle-aged and old-aged individuals. Our results suggest that a cognitive reserve of only six years of education could substantially enhance the cognitive health of individuals living in poverty. Therefore, expanding efforts to achieve universal education are essential for offsetting adverse effects of poverty and early life disadvantages and for promoting a good cognitive functioning over the entire life-span.