ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences2021
A New Look at Cohort Trend and Underlying Mechanisms in Cognitive Functioning.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed.
- Two steps forward, one step back: cohort shifts in cognitive function trajectories in aging European populations.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026Article
- Disentangling social isolation, loneliness, and later-life cognitive function for older adults in the United States: evidence from causal inference modeling.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026Article
- Underestimating the Relationship: Unpacking Both Socioeconomic Resources and Cognitive Function and Decline in Midlife to Later Life.Journal of health and social behavior · 2025Article
- Article
- Life course exposure to work strain and cognitive disparities by race and ethnicity.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- Younger Older Americans and Sarcopenic Obesity: The Moderating Role of Living Alone.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2024Article
- Cognitive performance trends among European older adults: exploring variations across cohorts, gender, and educational levels (2007-2017).BMC public health · 2024Article
- 2024 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2024Article
- New Evidence of Healthier Aging: Positive Cohort Effects on Verbal Fluency.Innovation in aging · 2024Article
- Cognitive Impairment Leads to Increased Feelings of Sexual Obligation Among a National Longitudinal Sample of Sexually Active Adults Aged 62 and Older.The Gerontologist · 2023Article
- Article
- Cohort Trends in the Burden of Multiple Chronic Conditions Among Aging U.S. Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2022Article
- Better cognitive function in younger generations - Insights from two cohort studies of middle-aged to older adults in Wisconsin.Maturitas · 2022Article
- Zheng and Echave Respond to "Population Health in Peril".American journal of epidemiology · 2021Article
- The Importance of Improving Educational Attainment for Dementia Prevalence Trends From 2000 to 2014, Among Older Non-Hispanic Black and White Americans.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2021Article
- Socioeconomic status across the life course and dementia-status life expectancy among older Americans.SSM - population health · 2021Article
- Brain Health: Attitudes towards Technology Adoption in Older Adults.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Is Sex Good for Your Brain? A National Longitudinal Study on Sexuality and Cognitive Function among Older Adults in the United States.Journal of sex researchArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author.
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Abstract
objectivesThe prevalence of dementia in the United States seems to have declined over the last few decades. We investigate trends and their underlying mechanisms in cognitive functioning (CF) across 7 decades of birth cohorts from the Greatest Generation to Baby Boomers.
methodsData come from 30,191 participants of the 1996-2014 Health and Retirement Study. CF is measured as a summary score on a 35-point cognitive battery of items. We use generalized linear models to examine the trends in CF and explanatory variables across birth cohorts. Then, Karlson-Holm-Breen decomposition method is used to evaluate the contribution of each explanatory variable to the trend of CF.
resultsCF has been improving from the Greatest Generation to Late Children of Depression and War Babies, but then significantly declines since the Early-Baby Boomers and continues into Mid-Baby Boomers. This pattern is observed universally across genders, race/ethnicities, education groups, occupations, income, and wealth quartiles. The worsening CF among Baby Boomers does not originate from childhood conditions, adult education, or occupation. It can be attributed to lower household wealth, lower likelihood of marriage, higher levels of loneliness, depression and psychiatric problems, and more cardiovascular risk factors (e.g., obesity, physical inactivity, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, and heart disease). DISCUSSION: The worsening CF among Baby Boomers may potentially reverse past favorable trends in dementia as they reach older ages and cognitive impairment becomes more common if no effective interventions and policy responses are in place.
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