Dataset Information

Associations between education and brain structure at age 73 years, adjusted for age 11 IQ.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To investigate how associations between education and brain structure in older age were affected by adjusting for IQ measured at age 11.

Methods

We analyzed years of full-time education and measures from an MRI brain scan at age 73 in 617 community-dwelling adults born in 1936. In addition to average and vertex-wise cortical thickness, we measured total brain atrophy and white matter tract fractional anisotropy. Associations between brain structure and education were tested, covarying for sex and vascular health; a second model also covaried for age 11 IQ.

Results

The significant relationship between education and average cortical thickness (? = 0.124, p = 0.004) was reduced by 23% when age 11 IQ was included (? = 0.096, p = 0.041). Initial associations between longer education and greater vertex-wise cortical thickness were significant in bilateral temporal, medial-frontal, parietal, sensory, and motor cortices. Accounting for childhood intelligence reduced the number of significant vertices by >90%; only bilateral anterior temporal associations remained. Neither education nor age 11 IQ was significantly associated with total brain atrophy or tract-averaged fractional anisotropy.

Conclusions

The association between years of education and brain structure ?60 years later was restricted to cortical thickness in this sample; however, the previously reported associations between longer education and a thicker cortex are likely to be overestimates in terms of both magnitude and distribution. This finding has implications for understanding, and possibly ameliorating, life-course brain health.

SUBMITTER: Cox SR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5089529 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Associations between education and brain structure at age 73 years, adjusted for age 11 IQ.

Cox Simon R SR Dickie David Alexander DA Ritchie Stuart J SJ Karama Sherif S Pattie Alison A Royle Natalie A NA Corley Janie J Aribisala Benjamin S BS Valdés Hernández Maria M Muñoz Maniega Susana S Starr John M JM Bastin Mark E ME Evans Alan C AC Wardlaw Joanna M JM Deary Ian J IJ

Neurology 20160924 17

<h4>Objective</h4>To investigate how associations between education and brain structure in older age were affected by adjusting for IQ measured at age 11.<h4>Methods</h4>We analyzed years of full-time education and measures from an MRI brain scan at age 73 in 617 community-dwelling adults born in 1936. In addition to average and vertex-wise cortical thickness, we measured total brain atrophy and white matter tract fractional anisotropy. Associations between brain structure and education were tes ...[more]

PMID: 27664981

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Project description:BackgroundStudies suggest that a higher education and occupation are each associated with a higher late-life cognitive ability, but their inter-relationships in their association with cognitive ability and the contribution of peak IQ in young adulthood ('pre-morbid IQ') often remain unclear.MethodsCross-sectional analysis of 623 participants aged ≥65 years of the BioCog study. Education was coded according to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED; range 1 to 6). Occupation was coded as 'semi/unskilled', 'skilled manual', 'skilled non-manual', 'managerial', 'professional'. A summary score of global ability ('g') was constructed from six cognitive tests. Pre-morbid IQ was estimated from vocabulary. The Geriatric Depression Scale assessed symptoms of depression. Age- and sex-adjusted analyses of covariance were performed.ResultsEducation (partial eta2 0.076; p < 0.001) and occupation (partial eta2 = 0.037; p < 0.001) were each significantly associated with g. For education, the association was attenuated but remained statistically significant when pre-morbid IQ was controlled for (partial eta2 0.036; p < 0.001) and was unchanged with additional adjustment for depression (partial eta2 0.037; p < 0.001). For occupation, the association with g was no longer significant when pre-morbid IQ (partial eta2 = 0.015; p = 0.06) and depression (partial eta2 = 0.011; p = 0.18) were entered as covariates in separate steps. When education and occupation were entered concurrently into the fully adjusted model, only education was independently associated with g (partial eta2 0.030; p < 0.001; occupation, p = 0.93).ConclusionWhile a higher education and a higher occupation were each associated with a higher late-life cognitive ability, only for education some unique contribution to cognitive ability remained over and above its relationship with pre-morbid IQ, depression, and occupation. Further research is needed to address whether a longer time spent in education may promote late-life cognitive ability.

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Dataset Information

Associations between education and brain structure at age 73 years, adjusted for age 11 IQ.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Associations between education and brain structure at age 73 years, adjusted for age 11 IQ.

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