ArticleDemography2022
Does Childbearing Affect Cognitive Health in Later Life? Evidence From an Instrumental Variable Approach.
Article in Demography, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Determinants of Dementia Risk Score in Primary Care: Knowledge Level, Social Factors, and Health Behaviours.Journal of prevention (2022) · 2026Article
- Family availability and memory function and decline among adults aged ≥51 in England and the United States, 2004-2019.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- Home-Based Care Outcomes: Does the Care Provider Matter?Health economics · 2025Article
- Public health implications of the send-down movement: long-term effects on cognitive ability of rural older adults in China.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Associations between the Number of Children, Depressive Symptoms, and Cognition in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Climate Disaster and Cognitive Ability: Evidence From Wildfire.International journal of public health · 2024Article
- Very Early-Life Risk Factors for Developing Dementia: Evidence From Full Population Registers.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2023Article
- Marital Histories and Associations With Later-Life Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment Risk in the HUNT4 70+ Study in Norway.Journal of aging and health · 2023Article
- Gender differences in the association between parity and cognitive function: Evidence from the UK biobank.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2023Article
- The Causes and Role of Antinatalism in Poland in the Context of Climate Change, Obstetric Care, and Mental Health.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Pet ownership is associated with greater cognitive and brain health in a cross-sectional sample across the adult lifespan.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Cognitive decline is a widespread concern as populations grow older. However, population aging is partly driven by a decrease in fertility, and family size may influence cognitive functioning in later life. Prior studies have shown that fertility history is associated with late-life cognition, but whether the relationship is causal remains unclear. We use an instrumental variable approach and data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe to examine whether having three or more versus two children affects late-life cognition. Parents often prefer to have at least one son and one daughter. We thus exploit the sex composition of the first two children as a source of exogenous variation in the probability of having three or more children. Results indicate that having three or more versus two children has a negative effect on late-life cognition. This effect is strongest in Northern Europe, perhaps because higher fertility decreases financial resources yet does not improve social resources in this region. Future studies should address the potential effects of childlessness or having one child on late-life cognition and explore the mediating mechanisms.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.