Life course socio-economic effects in later life cognitive functioning by cohort, gender and origin

Later life cognitive health depends on both individual as well as broader structural characteristics, with health inequalities rooted in the long-term organisation of social life. This paper examines a context of social transformation into and out of state socialism, affecting the distribution and accumulation of resources differently across population groups. We analyse later life cognitive health by cohort, gender, and migrant origin, including respondents aged 50 and over from SHARE Estonia (2010-2022), who report information on variables of interest (N = 5170). The roles of childhood and adulthood socio-economic positions (SEP) are analysed separately in a restricted sample (N = 2907). Using hybrid and correlated random-effects models, we distinguish within- and between-person effects in verbal recall change for two cohorts - those born in 1930-44 and 1945-59. We find steeper individual verbal recall decline in general for men, but not for migrants, in both cohorts. Gendered cognitive trajectories were not origin- or cohort-specific. Regarding the role of life course socio-economic factors in later life health, we find support for the sensitive period model, the pathway model and the accumulation model.