Clinical Manifestations

Area of Science:

• Gerontology and Cognitive Neuroscience
• Public Health and Epidemiology

Background:

• Cognitive ageing research is predominantly from high-income nations, with limited data from South Asia, especially India, a region with a rapidly growing elderly population.
• Distinct sociocultural and economic factors in India necessitate understanding their influence on cognitive performance in older adults.
• This study addresses the gap by examining age, gender, education, occupation, and income as determinants of cognitive function in healthy Indian older adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), education, occupation, and income on cognitive function in healthy older adults in India.
• To provide insights for developing culturally relevant interventions for cognitive health in the Indian ageing population.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a cross-sectional sample of 1,626 healthy adults aged 45+ from the Tata Longitudinal Study of Ageing (TLSA) cohort.
• Socioeconomic status (SES) was determined using the Kuppuswamy Socioeconomic Scale (Revised), integrating education, occupation, and income.
• Cognitive function was assessed using the ACE III and COGNITO Neuropsychological Battery, with Mann-Whitney U tests for group comparisons.

Main Results:

• Significant age-related decline observed in global cognition, memory, fluency, visuospatial skills, and executive function, with slower reaction times in older adults.
• Gender differences revealed males excelling in visuospatial tasks and attention, while females showed advantages in memory recall and verbal/categorical fluency; females also had slower reaction times.
• Higher SES, education, and professional occupations were strongly associated with better cognitive performance across domains, including global cognition, memory, fluency, and processing speed.

Conclusions:

• Socioeconomic disparities significantly influence cognitive functioning in older Indian adults, with higher SES linked to better cognitive outcomes.
• The findings underscore the critical need for region-specific interventions that address socioeconomic factors to promote healthy cognitive ageing.
• Integrating socioeconomic considerations into global public health policies is essential for equitable ageing and cognitive well-being.