LATEBREAKER
Aging
Sustained poverty from early adulthood through midlife and cognitive function Calvin Colvin* Calvin Colvin Katrina Kezios M. Maria Glymour Adina Zeki Al Hazzouri
Prior studies suggest that low income is associated with poorer cognition in mid and late life. Less is known about effects of sustained poverty from early adulthood through midlife on cognition. We used data from 2,631 National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) cohort members to examine the association of sustained poverty over 20 years (1990-2010) with midlife cognitive function. We included NLSY79 cohort members who had ³3 income measures during the exposure period (mean age in 1990: 27 years) and a midlife cognitive assessment between 2010 and 2016 (mean age at assessment: 48 years). We defined sustained poverty by the proportion of family incomes below 200% of the Federal Poverty Line. Participants’ midlife cognition was assessed via a modified version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-m). We grouped individual TICS-m assessments together based on cognitive domains (memory or attention), and averaged Z-scores across domains to create a global measure of cognition. Earlier-life (i.e., young-adulthood) cognition was assessed by the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) in 1980. In linear regression models adjusted for confounders, explanatory health factors, and AFQT percentile score, participants who were always in poverty had worse memory (Z-score, -0.28 [95% CI: -0.44, -0.11]), attention (Z-score, -0.25 [95% CI: -0.46, -0.06]), and global cognition (Z-score, -0.35 [95% CI: -0.51, -0.19]) compared to those never in poverty. Similar findings were seen for participants experiencing periodic poverty. The coefficients for sustained poverty are consistent in magnitude with the cognitive benefit prior work has suggested one receives with 5 additional years of education. In conclusion, we found that sustained poverty from early adulthood through midlife predicted worse midlife cognitive function, even accounting for young adult cognition. Long-term exposure to poverty may be an important determinant of midlife cognitive health.