Does education moderate gender disparities in later-life memory function? A cross-national comparison of harmonized cognitive assessment protocols in the United States and India

Abstract

Introduction: We compared gender disparities in later-life memory, overall and by education, in India and the United States (US).

Methods: Data (N = 7443) were from harmonized cognitive assessment protocols (HCAPs) in the Longitudinal Aging Study of India-Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia (LASI-DAD; N = 4096; 2017-19) and US Health and Retirement Study HCAP (HRS-HCAP; N = 3347; 2016-17). We derived harmonized memory factors from each study using confirmatory factor analysis. We used multivariable-adjusted linear regression to compare gender disparities in memory function between countries, overall and by education.

Results: In the United States, older women had better memory than older men (0.28 SD-unit difference; 95% CI: 0.22, 0.35). In India, older women had worse memory than older men (-0.15 SD-unit difference; 95% CI: -0.20, -0.10), which attenuated with increasing education and literacy.

Conclusion: We observed gender disparities in memory in India that were not present in the United States, and which dissipated with education and literacy.

Keywords: cross-national comparison; education; gender; memory.