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Effects of education and race on cognitive decline: An integrative study of generalizability versus study-specific results
Gross AL, Mungas DM, Crane PK, Gibbons LE, MacKay-Brandt A, Manly JJ, Mukherjee S, Romero H et al.. Psychology and aging, 2015-11-02
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The objective of the study was to examine variability across multiple prospective cohort studies in level and rate of cognitive decline by race/ethnicity and years of education. We compare data across studies, we harmonized estimates of common latent factors representing overall or general cognitive performance, memory, and executive function derived from the: (a) Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights, Inwood Columbia Aging Project (N = 4,115), (b) Spanish and English Neuropsychological Assessment Scales (N = 525), (c) Duke Memory, Health, and Aging study (N = 578), and (d) Neurocognitive Outcomes of Depression in the Elderly (N = 585). We modeled cognitive change over age for cognitive outcomes by race, education, and study. We adjusted models for sex, dementia status, and study-specific characteristics. The results found that for baseline levels of overall cognitive performance, memory, and executive function, differences in race and education tended to be larger than between-study differences and consistent across studies. This pattern did not hold for rate of cognitive decline: effects of education and race/ethnicity on cognitive change were not consistently observed across studies, and when present were small, with racial/ethnic minorities and those with lower education declining at faster rates. In this diverse set of datasets, non-Hispanic Whites and those with higher education had substantially higher baseline cognitive test scores. However, differences in the rate of cognitive decline by race/ethnicity and education did not follow this pattern. This study suggests that baseline test scores and longitudinal change have different determinants, and future studies to examine similarities and differences of causes of cognitive decline in racially/ethnically and educationally diverse older groups is needed.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Gross, A. L., Mungas, D. M., Crane, P. K., Gibbons, L. E., MacKay-Brandt, A., Manly, J. J., et al. (2015). Effects of education and race on cognitive decline: An integrative study of generalizability versus study-specific results. Psychology and aging. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000032
Vancouver
Gross AL, Mungas DM, Crane PK, Gibbons LE, MacKay-Brandt A, Manly JJ, et al. Effects of education and race on cognitive decline: An integrative study of generalizability versus study-specific results. Psychology and aging. 2015. doi:10.1037/pag0000032. PMID: 26523693.
BibTeX
@article{gross2015-26523693,
author = {Gross, A. L. and Mungas, D. M. and Crane, P. K. and Gibbons, L. E. and MacKay-Brandt, A. and Manly, J. J. and Mukherjee, S. and Romero, H. and others},
title = {{Effects of education and race on cognitive decline: An integrative study of generalizability versus study-specific results}},
journal = {Psychology and aging},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1037/pag0000032},
pmid = {26523693},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000032}
}
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Key findings
- We compare data across studies, we harmonized estimates of common latent factors representing overall or general cognitive performance, memory, and executive function derived from the: (a) Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights, Inwood Columbia Aging Project (N = 4,115), (b) Spanish and English Neuropsychological Assessment Scales (N = 525), (c) Duke Memory, Health, and Aging study (N = 578), and (d) Neurocognitive Outcomes of Depression in the Elderly (N = 585).
- The results found that for baseline levels of overall cognitive performance, memory, and executive function, differences in race and education tended to be larger than between-study differences and consistent across studies.
- This study suggests that baseline test scores and longitudinal change have different determinants, and future studies to examine similarities and differences of causes of cognitive decline in racially/ethnically and educationally diverse older groups is needed.
Why it matters
Across four cohort studies, differences in race and education were linked to differences in cognitive test scores at the start, but these factors were not consistently linked to the rate of cognitive decline over time. When a link to decline was present, it was small.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants4,115
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Psychology and aging) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Psychology and Aging: journal h-index 243 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 4,115 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 125 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 9.6 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 11 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 26 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Richard Norman Jones: h-index 94 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Columbia University: institution h-index 1,824 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26523693) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
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