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Offspring education and cognitive health: A comparison between Hispanic and White older adults in the United States
Erika Meza, Karla Renata Flores Romero, Isabel Elaine Allen, Héctor M. González, M. Maria Glymour, Jacqueline M. Torres. Alzheimer s & Dementia, 2025-01-27
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Higher offspring education (> 12 years) was associated with higher baseline cognitive scores and faster cognitive decline. Higher offspring education was also linked to a reduced risk of CIND or probable dementia, particularly among Hispanic participants. Among Hispanic participants, associations with cognitive decline but not incident CIND or probable dementia were of larger magnitude for foreign-born versus US-born participants. We found limited evidence of heterogeneity in the association between offspring education and cognitive aging by Hispanic ethnicity and nativity. HIGHLIGHTS: Higher offspring education was associated with higher baseline cognitive scores regardless of ethnicity or nativity. We found some evidence of an association between higher offspring education and faster cognitive decline, though this association varied by ethnicity and nativity. Higher offspring education was associated with a reduced risk of incident CIND or dementia for Hispanic and White participants but of slightly larger magnitude for Hispanic participants.
Key findings
- Higher offspring education (> 12 years) was associated with higher baseline cognitive scores and faster cognitive decline.
- Higher offspring education was also linked to a reduced risk of CIND or probable dementia, particularly among Hispanic participants.
- Among Hispanic participants, associations with cognitive decline but not incident CIND or probable dementia were of larger magnitude for foreign-born versus US-born participants.
- We found limited evidence of heterogeneity in the association between offspring education and cognitive aging by Hispanic ethnicity and nativity.
- HIGHLIGHTS: Higher offspring education was associated with higher baseline cognitive scores regardless of ethnicity or nativity.
Why it matters
This study found that higher offspring education was associated with higher baseline cognitive scores and a reduced risk of cognitive impairment or probable dementia, particularly among Hispanic participants. It does not test any treatment or cure, but suggests that offspring education may be linked to cognitive health in older adults.
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Study details
- Participants17,484
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 47/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer s & Dementia) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 4 / 4 | 17,484 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 3 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Jacqueline M. Torres: h-index 27 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 39868479) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 47 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Meza, E., Romero, K. R. F., Allen, I. E., González, H. M., Glymour, M. M., & Torres, J. M. (2025). Offspring education and cognitive health: A comparison between Hispanic and White older adults in the United States. Alzheimer s & Dementia. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.14523
Vancouver
Meza E, Romero KRF, Allen IE, González HM, Glymour MM, Torres JM. Offspring education and cognitive health: A comparison between Hispanic and White older adults in the United States. Alzheimer s & Dementia. 2025. doi:10.1002/alz.14523. PMID: 39868479.
BibTeX
@article{meza2025-39868479,
author = {Meza, Erika and Romero, Karla Renata Flores and Allen, Isabel Elaine and González, Héctor M. and Glymour, M. Maria and Torres, Jacqueline M.},
title = {{Offspring education and cognitive health: A comparison between Hispanic and White older adults in the United States}},
journal = {Alzheimer s \& Dementia},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1002/alz.14523},
pmid = {39868479},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.14523}
}
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