Journal Article

Four-year trajectories of episodic memory decline in mid-late life by living arrangements: a cross-national comparison between China and England

Hu, Y., Ruiz, M., Bobak, M., Martikainen, P.
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 75:9, 881–889 (2021)
Reproducible

Abstract

Background: There is mixed evidence on the association between living arrangements and mid-late life cognition, which may be due to distinct familial arrangements and preferences between populations. To address such heterogeneity, we assessed these associations in China and England.
Methods: Four-year trajectories of episodic memory scores (0–20, word recall test) by living arrangements (living with partner only, living with partner and children/grandchildren, living with no partner but with children/grandchildren, and living alone) were estimated using latent growth curve modelling for men and women aged 50+ from China (n=12 801) and England (n=10 964).
Results: After adjusting for baseline socioeconomic, health behaviours and health covariates, worse baseline memory was found in Chinese adults living with no partner but with children/grandchildren and in Chinese women living with partner and children/grandchildren, compared with those living with partner only. Better baseline memory was associated with living alone in English women. A faster memory decline was found in Chinese men living with no partner but with children/grandchildren (−0.122 word/year, 95% CI −0.213 to –0.031), as well as in English women living with children/grandchildren with (−0.114, 95% CI −0.180 to –0.049) or without (−0.118, 95% CI −0.209 to –0.026) a partner, and those living alone (−0.075, 95% CI −0.127 to –0.024). No differences at baseline nor over follow-up were found between English men in different living arrangements.
Conclusion: Overall, our findings did not confirm the protective effects of co-residence with children/grandchildren, nor the detrimental effects of living alone on mid-late life cognition in China and England.

The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock is one of the leading demographic research centers in the world. It's part of the Max Planck Society, the internationally renowned German research society.