Education differentially contributes to cognitive reserve across racial/ethnic groups

Justina F Avila; Miguel Arce Rentería; Richard N Jones; Jet M J Vonk; Indira Turney; Ketlyne Sol; Dominika Seblova; Franchesca Arias; Tanisha Hill-Jarrett; Shellie-Anne Levy; Oanh Meyer; Annie M Racine; Sarah E Tom; Rebecca J Melrose; Kacie Deters; Luis D Medina; Carmen I Carrión; Mirella Díaz-Santos; DeAnnah R Byrd; Anthony Chesebro; Juliet Colon; Kay C Igwe; Benjamin Maas; Adam M Brickman; Nicole Schupf; Richard Mayeux; Jennifer J Manly

doi:10.1002/alz.12176

Education differentially contributes to cognitive reserve across racial/ethnic groups

Alzheimers Dement. 2021 Jan;17(1):70-80. doi: 10.1002/alz.12176. Epub 2020 Aug 22.

Authors

Justina F Avila¹, Miguel Arce Rentería^{2

3

4}, Richard N Jones⁵, Jet M J Vonk^{2

3

4

6}, Indira Turney^{2

3

4}, Ketlyne Sol⁷, Dominika Seblova^{2

3

4}, Franchesca Arias⁸, Tanisha Hill-Jarrett⁹, Shellie-Anne Levy¹⁰, Oanh Meyer¹¹, Annie M Racine¹², Sarah E Tom^{3

4

13}, Rebecca J Melrose¹⁴, Kacie Deters¹⁵, Luis D Medina¹⁶, Carmen I Carrión¹⁷, Mirella Díaz-Santos¹⁸, DeAnnah R Byrd¹⁹, Anthony Chesebro^{2

3

4}, Juliet Colon^{2

3

4}, Kay C Igwe^{2

3

4}, Benjamin Maas^{2

3

4}, Adam M Brickman^{2

3

4}, Nicole Schupf^{2

3

4}, Richard Mayeux^{2

3

4}, Jennifer J Manly^{2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
² Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
³ Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
⁴ Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
⁵ Department of Neurology, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Butler Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht and Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
⁷ Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
⁸ Aging Brain Center, Hebrew Senior Life, Harvard Medical School Affiliate, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁹ Department of Neurosurgery, University of South Florida, Florida, Tampa, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
¹¹ Department of Neurology, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, USA.
¹² Biogen Inc, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
¹³ Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
¹⁴ VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los, Angeles, California, USA.
¹⁹ Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA.

Abstract

Introduction: We examined whether educational attainment differentially contributes to cognitive reserve (CR) across race/ethnicity.

Methods: A total of 1553 non-Hispanic Whites (Whites), non-Hispanic Blacks (Blacks), and Hispanics in the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP) completed structural magnetic resonance imaging. Mixture growth curve modeling was used to examine whether the effect of brain integrity indicators (hippocampal volume, cortical thickness, and white matter hyperintensity [WMH] volumes) on memory and language trajectories was modified by education across racial/ethnic groups.

Results: Higher educational attainment attenuated the negative impact of WMH burden on memory (β = -0.03; 99% CI: -0.071, -0.002) and language decline (β = -0.024; 99% CI:- 0.044, -0.004), as well as the impact of cortical thinning on level of language performance for Whites, but not for Blacks or Hispanics.

Discussion: Educational attainment does not contribute to CR similarly across racial/ethnic groups.

Keywords: cognitive aging; cognitive reserve; education; racial/ethnic differences.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging / psychology
Black or African American
Brain / diagnostic imaging
Cognitive Aging
Cognitive Reserve* / physiology
Educational Status*
Ethnicity*
Female
Hispanic or Latino
Humans
Language
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Memory / physiology
Neuropsychological Tests
Racial Groups*
White
White Matter / diagnostic imaging

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding