Low income, being without employment, and living alone: how they are associated with cognitive functioning-Results from the German national cohort (NAKO).

Submitted by elenaportacolone on Jun 25, 2025
TitleLow income, being without employment, and living alone: how they are associated with cognitive functioning-Results from the German national cohort (NAKO).
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2025
AuthorsRodriguez FS, Röhr S, Dragano N, Schmidt B, Becher H, Schikowski T, Gastell S, Harth V, Hoven H, Linseisen J, Greiser KHalina, Leitzmann M, Bohmann P, Castell S, Heise J-K, Krist L, Keil T, Karch A, Teismann H, Velásquez IMoreno, Pischon T, Peters A, Führer A, Mikolajczyk R, Günther K, Brand T, Meinke-Franze C, Schipf S, Grabe HJ, Brenner H, Koch-Gallenkamp L, Berger K, Wagner M, Katzke V, Lieb W, Pabst A, Riedel-Heller SG
JournalNeuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn
Volume32
Issue4
Pagination542-557
Date Published2025 Jul
ISSN1744-4128
KeywordsAdult, Age Factors, Aged, cognition, Cohort Studies, Employment, Female, Germany, Humans, Income, Male, Middle Aged, Poverty
Abstract

Aim was to investigate to what extent cognitive functioning differs by three socioeconomic conditions: low income, being without employment, and living alone. A total of N = 158,144 participants of the population-based German National Cohort (NAKO) provided data on socioeconomic conditions and completed cognitive tests. Multivariable confounder-adjusted regression analyses indicated that cognitive functioning was lower in those with low income (b = -0.21) compared to not having low income, living alone (b = -0.04) compared to not living alone, and being without employment (b = -0.09) compared to being employed. An interaction with age indicated that the difference in cognitive functioning was getting larger with age between the income groups and living alone status groups. Accordingly, the three conditions appear independently associated with poorer cognitive functioning. Pathways of how cognitive health in this population group can be improved need to be explored.
URLhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39688104/
DOI10.1080/13825585.2024.2438825
Alternate JournalNeuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn
PubMed ID39688104
Country: 
Sweden
Method: 
Quantitative
Design: 
PCI