Effects of APOE Alleles and Productive Aging Activites on Cognitive Health among Older Hispanics in the United States

Abstract

Background. This study examined the longitudinal associations of productive aging activities – formal education, employment, volunteering – with cognitive functioning in the context of genetic inheritance (APOE alleles) among older Hispanics in the United States. Research Design and Methods. Mixed effect growth curve models tested associations with respondents in the Health and Retirement Study (8,558 observations longitudinally from 2010 to 2020), controlling for known health, economic, and social covariates. Results. A fifth of respondents carried one or two ε4 alleles. Most respondents had less than a high school diploma (46%), nearly half worked for pay (45%), less than one quarter engaged in formal volunteering (24%), and roughly a little over one-sixth engaged in informal volunteering (36%). Respondents with ε4 alleles experienced lower levels of cognitive health at baseline, yet slower slopes of cognitive decline across models. Higher levels of education conferred greater cognitive health cross-sectionally and a slower cognitive decline rate. Although employed respondents reported lower levels of cognitive health at baseline, employment protected their cognitive health overtime. Formal volunteering resulted in higher levels of cognitive health, yet associations were unstable across models. Foreign born Hispanics experienced higher levels of cognitive health at baseline relative to US born Hispanics. Income, depression, and other social contexts influenced cognitive health at baseline and overtime in expected directions. Discussion and Implications. Productive activities contributed to cognitive health, above and beyond genetic inheritance. Productive aging, income, and health policies and programs can bolster cognitive health. We also discuss areas for further research.