School Performance and Educational Attainment as Early-Life Predictors of Age-Related Memory Decline: Protective Influences in Later-Born Cohorts

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Evidence is accumulating that early-life characteristics and experiences contribute significantly to differences in cognitive aging. This study investigated whether school performance at age 12 predicted late-life level and rate of memory change over 15–25 years, and whether its potential protective influence on memory change was mediated by educational attainment or income. Methods Latent growth curve models were fitted to 15–25 year longitudinal memory data from a population-based sample, stratified on age cohorts (n = 227, born 1909–1935; n = 301, born 1938–1954). Results A latent-level school grade variable significantly predicted both memory level and slope in later-born cohorts. Higher grades were associated with higher level and reduced decline, measured between ages 45 and 70 years, on average. In the earlier-born cohorts, grades predicted memory level, but not slope, measured between ages 66 and 81 years. Follow-up analyses indicated that the protective influence of higher school grades in later-born cohorts was partially mediated by educational attainment, but independent of income. Discussion The results suggest that higher childhood school performance is protective against age-related cognitive decline in younger or later-born cohorts, for which further education has been more accessible. Education may exert such influence through increased cognitive reserve or more well-informed health- and lifestyle decisions.