Sex Differences in Cognitive Functioning with Aging in the Netherlands

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Dementia prevalence is higher in older women compared to men.
• Existing research suggests potential sex-based differences in cognitive aging trajectories.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if a cognitive disadvantage exists in women during adulthood.
• To determine if any female cognitive disadvantage emerges or changes with advancing age.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 5,135 women and 4,756 men across two longitudinal studies (LASA and DCS).
• Cognitive functions including memory, processing speed, fluid intelligence, and global cognitive function were assessed over 20-23 years.
• Analyzed sex differences in cognitive aging using linear mixed models, considering birth cohort and education level.

Main Results:

• Women demonstrated superior memory, processing speed, and flexibility compared to men.
• Women experienced a faster decline in most cognitive domains (up to 10%), except for flexibility where decline was slower.
• Women scored lower on fluid intelligence but showed a slower rate of decline (10%) in this domain.

Conclusions:

• A cognitive advantage favoring women in memory and processing speed is present in middle age.
• This female advantage in cognitive function decreases with age.
• The cognitive advantage for women has increased in more recent birth cohorts and is influenced by educational attainment.