ArticleBMJ public health2026
Childhood socioeconomic status and episodic memory in later life: the moderating roles of education and social class in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2002-2024).
Article in BMJ public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Introduction: Socioeconomic disadvantage in childhood is linked to cognitive ageing, but the extent to which adult socioeconomic factors modify these associations remains unclear. We examined whether childhood socioeconomic status relates to later-life episodic memory and whether education and adult social class modify this relationship. Methods: Observational longitudinal secondary analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, waves 1-11 (2002-2024). The sample comprised 6939 participants aged ≥50 years, contributing 52 742 observations. Childhood socioeconomic status was derived using latent class analysis from four indicators (main carer's occupation, household overcrowding, availability of household facilities and number of books in the house). Total episodic memory (0-20) combined immediate and delayed 10-word recall at each wave. Linear mixed-effects models with repeated measures estimated associations between childhood socioeconomic status and episodic memory and tested interactions with education and adult occupational social class, adjusting for sociodemographic, behavioural, health and psychosocial covariates. Results: A two-class (poor vs non-poor) childhood socioeconomic status solution fit best. Non-poor childhood socioeconomic status was associated with higher episodic memory across models (β=0.53-0.99; p<0.001). The advantage of non-poor childhood socioeconomic status was smaller among those in higher adult occupational classes (interaction β=-0.40; p<0.001), whereas the interaction with education was not significant. Findings were robust in imputed analyses. Conclusion: Poor childhood socioeconomic status is associated with lower episodic memory in later life. Adult occupational social class modestly attenuates this association, whereas education shows no evidence of effect modification. These longitudinal associations suggest that future public health research should evaluate structural frameworks that consider both early-life conditions and sustained socioeconomic support across the life course to address cognitive ageing.
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