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Trends in sex/gender differences across whites, blacks, and Hispanics
Author(s) -
Avila Justina F,
Rentería Miguel Arce,
Vonk Jet MJ,
Manly Jennifer J
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1002/alz.041223
Subject(s) - demography , ethnic group , cohort , white (mutation) , educational attainment , national survey of family growth , gerontology , race (biology) , immigration , medicine , psychology , population , gender studies , geography , biochemistry , chemistry , archaeology , sociology , family planning , anthropology , economics , research methodology , gene , economic growth
Background We determined if later birth year is associated with an increased verbal memory advantage for women and examined whether childhood socio‐economic status (CSES) and adult socio‐economic status (ASES) explain secular trends similarly across Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. Method Participants were 5,258 non‐Hispanic White (White), non‐Hispanic Black (Black), and Hispanic men and women in the Washington/Hamilton Heights Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP) who were administered neuropsychological tests of memory at 18 to 24 month intervals for up to 25 years. Multiple‐group latent growth curve modeling examined trajectories across birth cohorts (before 1925 vs 1925 and later) within sex/gender by race/ethnicity subgroups after adjusting for immigration status (yes/no). Factor scores for CSES (parental education, occupation, and sibship size) and ASES (educational attainment, income, and occupational status) were examined as potential mediators. Result Overall, people born after 1925 and women had higher initial memory performance than people in the earlier birth cohort and men, respectively. However, the benefit of later birth year was restricted to White men and women and Black women, and there was no benefit among Black men or Hispanic men and women. White and Black women demonstrated a similar memory advantage over White and Black men, respectively. This advantage widened for Black women in the later born cohort, but remained similar for later born White women. Hispanic men and women obtained similar memory scores across birth cohorts. While earlier birth year was associated with more rapid rate of decline across racial/ethnic groups, men and women within each birth cohort declined at the same rate. The influence of birth cohort on memory was fully mediated by CSES for White men and mediated by ASES among White and Black women. Conclusion The verbal memory advantage of women varies across and within birth cohorts and racial/ethnic groups. Later birth year was associated with an increased memory advantage for Black women over Black men. Secular trends were differentially explained by childhood and adult SES for White men and White and Black women.