Kala M. Mehta|Anita L. Stewart|Kenneth M. Langa|Kristine Yaffe|Sandra Moody-Ayers|Brie Williams|Kenneth E. Covinsky
“Below average” self?assessed school performance and Alzheimer's disease in the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study
University of California, San Francisco|San Francisco VA Medical Center|Institute on Aging|University of Michigan–Ann Arbor|VA Center for Clinical Management Research|San Francisco VA Medical Center|University of California, San Francisco|University of California, San Francisco|University of California, San Francisco|University of California, San Francisco
low level formal education becoming accepted risk factor alzheimers disease ad although increasing attention paid differences educational quality previous studies addressed participants characterizations overall performance school examined whether selfassessed school performance associated ad beyond effects educational level aloneparticipants drawn populationrepresentative aging demographics memory study adams 20002002 adams participants asked performance school possible response options included average average average adams participants also underwent full neuropsychological battery received research diagnosis possible probable adthe 725 participants mean age 818 years 59 female 16 africanamerican varied selfassessed educational performance 29 reported average 64 reported average 7 reported average school performance participants lower selfassessed school performance higher proportions ad 11 participants average selfassessed performance ad opposed 12 participants average performance 26 participants average performance p 0001 controlling subjects years school literacy test score widerange achievement test age sex raceethnicity apolipoprotein eepsilon4 status socioeconomic status selfreported comorbidities respondents average selfassessed school performance four times likely ad compared average performance odds ratio 40 95 confidence interval 1214 average average selfassessed school performance increase decrease odds ad odds ratio 09 95 confidence interval 0517we suggest association average selfassessed school performance ad beyond known association formal education efforts increase cognitive reserve better school performance addition increasing number years formal education early life may important reducing vulnerability throughout life course