Cardiometabolic Risk and Cognitive Decline: The Role of Socioeconomic Status in Childhood and Adulthood

2019/09/01 by Katsuya Oi, Steven A. Haas, Steven Haas · 36 citations
Medicine · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Birth, Development, and Health #Cognition #Cognitive decline #Cognitive skill #Context (archaeology) #Demography #Developmental psychology #Disease #Economics #Environmental health #Geography #Gerontology #Health and Retirement Study #Health disparities and outcomes #Medicine #Population #Psychiatry #Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction #Psychology #Social class #Socioeconomic status #Sociology

paper · doi:10.1177/0022146519867924

published in Journal of Health and Social Behavior 60(3), 326-343 (SAGE Publishing)

openalex publication_date 2019/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

Socioeconomic conditions in childhood predict cognitive functioning in later life. It is unclear whether poor childhood socioeconomic status (SES) also predicts the acceleration of cognitive decline. One proposed pathway is via cardiometabolic risk, which has been linked to both childhood SES and earlier onset of cognitive impairment. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we examine the impact of childhood SES on cognitive trajectories over six years and test whether it operates through increased cardiometabolic risk and adult SES. We find that higher childhood SES leads to slower cognitive decline, partially due to lower levels of cardiometabolic risk. However, these pathways operate entirely through adult socioeconomic attainment. The results have important implications for future trends in cognitive population health within the context of growing social inequality and reduced social mobility.

Citations

• Stress and the Individual
• Childhood Disadvantage and Health Problems in Middle and Later Life

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