Premium
HEIGHT AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION AT OLDER AGES: IS HEIGHT A USEFUL SUMMARY MEASURE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES?
Author(s) -
Guven Cahit,
Lee Wang Sheng
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
health economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.55
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1099-1050
pISSN - 1057-9230
DOI - 10.1002/hec.1827
Subject(s) - cognition , association (psychology) , cognitive skill , educational attainment , gerontology , cohort , demography , cohort study , early childhood , psychology , developmental psychology , medicine , sociology , psychiatry , political science , pathology , psychotherapist , law
SUMMARY Previous research using US data suggests that height, as a marker for early investments in health, is associated with better cognitive functioning in later life, but this association disappears once education is controlled for. Using an English cohort of men and women older than 50 years, we find that the association between height and cognitive outcomes remains significant after controlling for education suggesting that height affects cognitive functioning not simply via higher educational attainment. Furthermore, the significant association between height and cognitive function remains even after controls for early life indicators have been included. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.