Objectives: To assess the association between rural and urban residential mobility and cognitive function among middle-aged and older adults in China.
Method: We used data from the World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health that included adults age 50+ from China ( N = 12,410). We used multivariate linear regressions to examine how residential mobility and age at migration were associated with cognitive function.
Results: Urban and urban-to-urban residents had the highest level of cognitive function, whereas rural and rural-to-rural residents had the poorest cognitive function. Persons who migrated to/within rural areas before age 20 had poorer cognitive function than those who migrated during later adulthood. Socioeconomic factors played a major role in accounting for the disparities in cognition; however, the association remained significant after inclusion of all covariates.
Discussion: Residential mobility and age at migration have significant implications for cognitive function among middle-aged and older adults in China.
Keywords: China; cognition; mobility; social determinants of health.