The Relationship between Life Course Socioeconomic Conditions and Objective and Subjective Memory in Older Age

Morgane Künzi; Emilie Joly-Burra; Sascha Zuber; Maximilian Haas; Doriana Tinello; Chloé Da Silva Coelho; Alexandra Hering; Andreas Ihle; Gianvito Laera; Greta Mikneviciute; Silvia Stringhini; Bogdan Draganski; Matthias Kliegel; Nicola Ballhausen

doi:10.3390/brainsci11010061

Brain Sciences (Jan 2021)

The Relationship between Life Course Socioeconomic Conditions and Objective and Subjective Memory in Older Age

Morgane Künzi,
Emilie Joly-Burra,
Sascha Zuber,
Maximilian Haas,
Doriana Tinello,
Chloé Da Silva Coelho,
Alexandra Hering,
Andreas Ihle,
Gianvito Laera,
Greta Mikneviciute,
Silvia Stringhini,
Bogdan Draganski,
Matthias Kliegel,
Nicola Ballhausen

Affiliations

Morgane Künzi: Cognitive Aging Lab (CAL), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve 28, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
Emilie Joly-Burra: Cognitive Aging Lab (CAL), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve 28, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
Sascha Zuber: Cognitive Aging Lab (CAL), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve 28, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
Maximilian Haas: Cognitive Aging Lab (CAL), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve 28, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
Doriana Tinello: Cognitive Aging Lab (CAL), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve 28, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
Chloé Da Silva Coelho: Cognitive Aging Lab (CAL), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve 28, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
Alexandra Hering: Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability (CIGEV), University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve 28, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
Andreas Ihle: Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability (CIGEV), University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve 28, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
Gianvito Laera: Cognitive Aging Lab (CAL), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve 28, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
Greta Mikneviciute: Cognitive Aging Lab (CAL), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve 28, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
Silvia Stringhini: Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, Rue du Bugnon 44, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
Bogdan Draganski: Laboratory of Research in Neuroimaging (LREN), Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital, University of Lausanne, Champ de l’Air Building, Rue du Bugnon 21, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
Matthias Kliegel: Cognitive Aging Lab (CAL), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve 28, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
Nicola Ballhausen: Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability (CIGEV), University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve 28, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11010061
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 11, no. 1
p. 61

Abstract

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While objective memory performance in older adults was primarily shown to be affected by education as indicator of life course socioeconomic conditions, other life course socioeconomic conditions seem to relate to subjective memory complaints. However, studies differ in which life course stages were investigated. Moreover, studies have explored these effects in an isolated way, but have not yet investigated their unique effect when considering several stages of the life course simultaneously. This study, therefore, examined the respective influence of socioeconomic conditions from childhood up to late-life on prospective memory (PM) performance as an objective indicator of everyday memory as well as on subjective memory complaints (SMC) in older age using structural equation modeling. Data came from two waves of the Vivre-Leben-Vivere aging study (n=993, Mage=80.56). The results indicate that only socioeconomic conditions in adulthood significantly predicted late-life PM performance. PM performance was also predicted by age and self-rated health. In contrast, SMC in older age were not predicted by socioeconomic conditions at any stage of the life course but were predicted by level of depression. In line with the cognitive reserve hypothesis, present results highlight the significance of education and occupation (adulthood socioeconomic conditions) for cognitive functioning in later life.

Published in Brain Sciences

ISSN: 2076-3425 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/brainsci/

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