Study links childhood adversity to cognitive decline later in life

In a recent study published in the journal Scientific reportsresearchers examined the role of different adversities experienced at different stages of the life course on cognitive aging (i.e. level and change).

Study: Specificity of adversity and lifetime exposure on cognitive aging. Image Credit: myboys.me/Shutterstock

Background

Previous studies have reported the effects of stress during various life stages on the frontal lobes, amygdala, and hippocampus, which are involved in memory, learning, and functions associated with higher cognition. Associations between socioeconomic adversity in adulthood and cognition have also been documented.

Adversity impacts cognition in aging, affecting both specific and cumulative experiences. Unfortunately, the existing data on the effects of adversity on cognitive performance and change in older adults is conflicting, requiring a comprehensive model to understand the impact of different adversities experienced at different stages of the life course on the cognitive function and performance.

About the study

In the current study, researchers investigated the role of distinct adversities (parental loss, stress, hunger, and economic hardship) experienced at three life course periods (early life, early adulthood, and middle age) in the prediction of cognitive performance at older ages. age and the evolution of cognitive performance during the aging process (level and evolution of cognition).

Data from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) study of 2,662 people aged over 60.0 years (median age 68 years) were analyzed using modeling by structural equation. The team investigated whether, at each life stage, adversity was linked to lower fluency (FL) and memory performance in older adults and to a more marked decline in FL and of memory.

Only people with complete cognition-related data for all follow-ups (SHARE studies waves 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0), who were not suspected of having dementia in the first and second waves of l study (excluding individuals with scores less than 2.0 on temporal orientation), and those who participated and completed the retrospective SHARELIFE questionnaire during the third or seventh wave were included in this analysis.

The study began in 2004 and was conducted every two years until 2017-2018. Cognitive improvements were seen during the first and second waves, likely due to learning effects, but showed declining trends thereafter. Therefore, only data from the second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh waves were analyzed to assess changes in cognition over time.

The team assessed delayed-type recall by requiring participants to recall ten words that were spoken aloud during study waves, followed by delays in which VF and numeracy tasks were completed. Participants had to name different animals in one minute in the VF task. Adversities were assessed by matching various items with definitions of adversity (i.e. periods of hunger, stress, economic hardship, and death of one or both parents) throughout the life.

For each item, participants documented the calendar year in which the event began and, based on the difference in birth dates, the team determined the period of life in which adversity was lived. The life course was divided into early life (0.0–20.0 years), early adulthood (21.0–40.0 years), and middle age (41.0–60.0 years).

Results

Early experience of economic hardship predicted lower VF performance, and early life hunger experience predicted lower delayed recall and lower VF performance. However, adversities experienced later in life (early and middle adulthood) did not negatively predict cognition and changes associated with older age. In contrast, stress and economic hardship experienced in early adulthood better predicted recall delay and VF performance in later life. In contrast, economic hardship experienced in mid-adulthood predicted a smaller decline in delayed recall.

Older people, less educated men, and those with less educated fathers had worse delayed recall performance at older ages. VF performance was poorer in older people whose parents were less educated and in less educated participants. Older individuals also decreased their delayed recall performance more strongly from one wave to the next. Economic hardship in middle age reduces recall delay, improves cognitive performance, and encourages paid work, while adulthood provides better resources and creativity.

conclusion

Overall, the study results showed that adversity experienced early in life (particularly hunger and economic hardship) was negatively associated with cognitive aging, which was not the case for adversity experienced later in life. The results highlighted the importance of the sensitive period (early life) in the experience of adversity and the detrimental effects of economic hardship and hunger in early life on later cognitive health. which could inform the development of social policies.

Adversity in early life, hunger, and adverse socioeconomic conditions could have lasting effects on cognition later in life than adulthood. Economic hardship experienced in early life appeared to influence VF performance level and delayed recall change, likely due to less mental stimulation and worse lifestyle due to economic constraints in early life. life, resulting in lower cognitive accumulation. Hunger early in life can cause alterations in neurotransmitter systems that impact cognition.