The purpose of this study was to conduct a cross-national comparison of factors related to cognitive functioning in later life in a U.S. and Korean sample. The study sample was comprised of subjects from the HRS (N = 10,175) and the KLoSA (N = 3,550). Separate multivariate regression models were employed to examine the impact of socio-demographic, health, and health behaviors on cognitive functioning among older adults. Regression results showed that age, gender, education, wealth, self-rated health, ADL, IADL, stroke, and poor eyesight were significantly associated with cognitive functioning in both countries. However, depression, high blood pressure, diabetes, and drinking were significantly associated with cognition only among Americans, while marital status and poor hearing were significantly associated with cognition only among Koreans. In addition, gender-specific models suggested several socio-economic and health factors had significantly different effects by gender in both countries. Cross-national comparative research identified similar risk factors, suggesting robust associations. Unique factors related to cognitive functioning in U.S. and Korean older adults highlight the important role of societal influences on cognitive outcomes.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AlbertM. S.JonesK.SavageC. R.BerkmanL.SeemanT.BlazerD. (1995). Predictors of cognitive change in older persons: MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging. Psychology and Aging, 10, 578–589. doi: 10.1037//0882-7974.10.4.578
2.
Alzheimer's Disease International. (2010). World Alzheimer Report 2010: The global economic impact of dementia. Alzheimer's Disease International.
3.
AndresenE. M.MalmgrenJ. A.CarterW. B.PatrickD. L. (1994). Screening for depression in well older adults: Evaluation of a short form of the CES-D. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 10, 77–84.
4.
AnsteyK. J.MackH. A.CherbuinN. (2009). Alcohol consumption as a risk factor for dementia and cognitive decline: Meta-analysis of prospective studies. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 17(7), 542–555. doi: 10.1097/JGP.0b013e3181a2fd07
5.
BevansM.SternbergE. M. (2012). Caregiving burden, stress, and health effects among family caregivers of adult cancer patients. Journal of the American Medical Association, 307(4), 398–403. doi: 10.1001/jama.2012.29
6.
BiermanE. J.ComijsH. C.JonkerC.BeekmanA. T. (2005). Effects of anxiety versus depression on cognition in later life. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 13(8), 686–693. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajgp.13.8.686
7.
ChodoshJ.Miller-MartinezD.AneshenselC. S.WightR. G.KarlamanglaA. S. (2010). Depressive symptoms, chronic diseases, and physical disabilities as predictors of cognitive functioning trajectories in older Americans. Journal of American Geriatrics Society, 58(12), 2350–2357. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.03171.x
8.
ClarkeP.SmithJ. (2011). Aging in a cultural context: Cross-national differences in disability and the moderating role of personal control among older adults in the United States and England. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 66(4), 457–467. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbr054
9.
CollinsN.Sachs-EricssonN.PreacherK. J.SheffieldK. M.MarkidesK. (2009). Smoking increases risk for cognitive decline among community-dwelling older Mexican Americans. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 11, 934–942. doi: 10.1097/JGP.0b013e3181b0f8df
10.
CutlerD. M.Lleras-MuneyA. (2006). Education and health: Evaluating theories and evidence (No. W12352). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
11.
GaleC. R.MartynC. N.CooperC. (1996). Cognitive impairment and mortality in a cohort of elderly people. British Medical Journal, 312(7031), 608–611. doi: 10.1136/bmj.312.7031.608
12.
HakanssonK.RovioS.HelkalaE. L.VilskaA. R.WinbladB.SoininenH. (2009). Association between mid-life marital status and cognitive function in later life: Population based cohort study. British Medical Journal, 339, b2462. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b2462
13.
HerzogA. R.WallaceR. B. (1997). Measures of cognitive functioning in the AHEAD survey. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 52B, 3–48. doi: 10.1093/geronb/52B.Special_Issue.37
14.
KarlamanglaA. S.Miller-MartinezC.AneshenselC. S.SeemanT. E.WightR. G.ChodoshJ. (2009). Trajectories of cognitive function in late life in the United States: Demographic and socioeconomic predictors. American Journal of Epidemiology, 170(3), 331–342.
15.
KimG. (2002). Education policies and reform in South Korea. In Secondary Education in Africa: Strategies for renewal (World Bank Africa Region ed.; pp. 29–39). Washington, DC: World Bank.
16.
KimK. W.ParkJ. H.KimM. H.KimM. D.KimB. J.KimS. K. (2011). A nationwide survey on the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in South Korea. Journal of Alzheimers Disease, 23, 281–291.
17.
LangaK. M.LlewellynD. J.LangI. A.WeirD. R.WallaceR. B.KabetoM. U. (2009). Cognitive health among older adults in the United States and in England. BMC Geriatrics, 9, 23. doi: 10.1186/1471-2318-9-23
18.
LeeJ.ChangS. M.JangH.ChangJ. S.SuhG.JungH. Y. (2008). Illiteracy and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease in the Yonchon County survey, Korea. International Psychogeriatrics, 20(5), 976–985. Available at https://dx-doi-org.web.bisu.edu.cn/10.1017/S1041610208007333
19.
LeeY.ShinkaiS. (2005). Correlates of cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms among older adults in Korea and Japan. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20, 576–586. doi: 10.1002/gps.1313
LyuJ.LeeS. H. (2012). Gender differences in the link between excessive drinking and domain-specific cognitive functioning among older adults. Journal of Aging and Health, 24, 1380–1398. doi: 10.1177/0898264312459346
22.
McArdleJ. J.FisherG. G.KadlecK. M. (2007). Latent variable analyses of age trends of cognition in the Health and Retirement Study, 1992–2004. Psychology and Aging, 22(3), 525–545.
23.
OfstedalM. B.ZimmerZ. S.LinH. (1999). A comparison of correlates of cognitive functioning in older persons in Taiwan and the United States. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 54B(5), S291–S301. doi: 10.1093/geronb/54B.5.S291
24.
OfstedalM. B.FisherG. G.HerzogA. R. (2005). Documentation of cognitive functioning measures in the Health and Retirement Study. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, Survey Research Center.
25.
RossC. E.WuC. L. (1995). The links between education and health. American Sociological Review, 60, 719–745. doi: 10.2307/2096319
26.
ShihR.LeeJ.DasL. (2012). Harmonization of cross-national studies of aging to the Health and Retirement Study. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
27.
ShinK.KangY.KimM.JungD.KimM. (2012). Comparative study between depression in Korean elderly with mild cognitive impairment and normal cognitive function. Nursing and Health Sciences, 14, 81–86.
28.
SiervoM. M.ArnoldR. R.WellsJ. K.TagliabueA. A.ColantuoniA. A.AlbaneseE. E. (2011). Intentional weight loss in overweight and obese individuals and cognitive function: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Reviews, 12(11), 968–983. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2011.00903.x
29.
StewartR.KimJ-M.ShinI-S.YoonJ-S. (2003). Education and the association between vascular risk factors and cognitive function: A cross-sectional study in older Koreans with cognitive impairment. International Psychogeriatrics, 15, 27–36. doi: 10.1017/S1041610203008731
30.
TayT.WangJ. J.KifleyA.LindleyR.NewallP.MitchellP. (2006). Sensory and cognitive association in older persons: Findings from an older Australian population. Gerontology, 52(6), 386–394. doi: 10.1159/000095129
31.
United Nations Population Division. (2011). World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision. New York, NY: UN Population Division.
32.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2008). 2008 National population projections. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.
33.
World Health Organization (WHO). (1995). Physical status: The use and interpretation of anthropometry. Report of a WHO Expert Committee. WHO Technical Report Series 854. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
