Interaction effects of education and health status on cognitive change: a 6-year follow-up of the Maastricht Aging Study.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to test for interactions between education and health status (i.e., physical, social, and psychological functioning) with respect to baseline cognitive performance and change over 6 years.


METHODS
Longitudinal data from the Maastricht Aging Study of 1344 men and women aged 24-47 and 49-77 were used.


RESULTS
Education by health interactions were restricted to the younger group. The components of health status that most consistently interacted with education were physical functioning on cognitive performance at baseline and physical and psychological functioning on cognitive change.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that high education attenuates age-related decline and lower baseline performance incurred by low health status in persons younger than 50.
Meijer
Willemien A
WA
Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
van Boxtel
Martin P J
MP
Van Gerven
Pascal W M
PW
van Hooren
Susan A H
SA
Jolles
Jelle
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires