title: Gender disparity in late-life cognitive functioning in India: findings from the longitudinal aging study in India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine gender disparities in cognitive functioning in India and the extent to which education explains this disparity in later life.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study uses baseline interviews of a prospective cohort study of 1,451 community-residing adults 45 years of age or older in four geographically diverse states of India (Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan). Data collected during home visits includes cognitive performance tests, and rich sociodemographic, health, and psychosocial variables. The cognitive performance tests include episodic memory, numeracy, and a modified version of the Mini-Mental State Examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We find gender disparity in cognitive function in India, and this disparity is greater in the north than the south. We also find that gender disparities in educational attainment, health, and social and economic activity explain the female cognitive disadvantage in later life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We report significant gender disparities in cognitive functioning among older Indian adults, which differ from gender disparities in cognition encountered in developed countries. Our models controlling for education, health status, and social and economic activity explain the disparity in southern India but not the region-specific disparity in the northern India. North Indian women may face additional sources of stress associated with discrimination against women that contribute to persistent disadvantages in cognitive functioning at older ages.
authors.affiliation: Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California and RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California. jinkook.lee@usc.edu.
authors.forename: Jinkook
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, Washington, District of Columbia.
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, Washington, District of Columbia.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Feeney
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Gerontology, and Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
authors.forename: Kenneth M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Langa
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Aging; Cognition; Cognitive function; Education; Gender disparity; India.