A global perspective on cognitive function and educational attainment

Age-related cognitive decline combined with demographic changes represents a social, economic, and health-related challenge. Extending schooling and improving the quality of education can be one important policy response for reducing the incidence of poor cognitive function among seniors. This study gives a global comparison of the impact of education on cognition, using standardized cognitive measures from representative surveys of individuals aged 50+. Data are from aging surveys conducted in mid 2000s covering more than 20 countries of Asia, America, Africa, and Europe.
Using a multilevel approach to identify the influence of individual education as well as the influence of national-level education, we find a positive education-cognition relation for all countries, in spite of their very different characteristics with respect to demography, educational distribution, selection into schooling, and level of economic and social development. We also find that an increase in the national education level not only increases an individual's level of education but also has an additional positive effect on his/her cognition.
Education is significantly positively associated with cognition across all countries. Raising the level and quality of education could represent a potential mechanism for improving cognition at older ages.