@article {13829, title = {Gender Differences in the Protective Role of Grandparenting in Dementia Risk.}, journal = {Journal of Applied Gerontology, Series B, Psychological Sciences and social sciences}, year = {Forthcoming}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: This study provides one of the first national longitudinal studies of the association between caring for grandchildren (i.e., grandparenting) and the risk of dementia in the U.S., with a focus on gender-specific variations.

METHOD: We estimated discrete-time event history models, drawing upon data from the Health and Retirement Study (2000-2016). The analytic sample included 10,217 community-dwelling White and Black grandparents aged 52 years and older at baseline.

RESULTS: Noncoresident grandparenting was associated with a lower risk of dementia for both women and men compared to grandparents who did not take care of grandchildren. However, the cognitive advantage showed different patterns based on gender and the combination of care intensity and family structure. Grandmothers had a lower risk of dementia than noncaregiving grandmothers when providing a light level of noncoresident grandparenting, while grandfathers who provided intensive noncoresident grandparenting had a reduced risk of dementia compared to their noncaregiving counterparts. Grandparenting experiences within multigenerational households and skipped-generation households were not associated with dementia risk.

DISCUSSION: Intergenerational caregiving plays a pivotal role in shaping cognitive health during later life; however, the impact is nuanced, depending on factors such as gender, care intensity and family structure.

}, keywords = {Caregiving, Cognition, Event history analysis, Intergenerational Relations, Living arrangement}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbae034}, author = {Choi, Seung-Won Emily and Zhang, Zhenmei and Liu, Hui} } @article {13741, title = {A national longitudinal dyadic analysis of spousal education and cognitive decline in the United States.}, journal = {Social Science \& Medicine}, volume = {343}, year = {2024}, pages = {116603}, abstract = {

Education plays a significant role in shaping cognitive functioning throughout an individual{\textquoteright}s life. However, existing research has not adequately explored how the educational attainment of the spouse can impact cognitive functioning over time. This study presents one of the first longitudinal analyses of how spousal education is linked to cognitive trajectories of each member within couples during their later life in the United States. Guided by the linked lives perspective, we analyze data from 8370 couples in the Health and Retirement Study spanning from 2000 to 2018. Results from the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) integrated with latent growth curve models reveal that cognitive trajectories exhibit a correlation between spouses over time. Moreover, our analysis uncovers gender-specific effects of spousal education on cognition, shedding light on the underlying mechanisms driving this connection. Notably, the lower educational attainment of husbands is associated with a faster cognitive decline in both themselves and their wives. This association is partially explained by economic resources, but not by health and social behaviors. The lower educational attainment of wives is linked to their own faster cognitive decline as well as lower initial cognitive levels of their husbands, in part via economic resources. However, wives{\textquoteright} educational attainment is largely unrelated to their husbands{\textquoteright} cognitive decline. Intriguingly, wives{\textquoteright} education has a more pronounced impact on the health and social behaviors of their husbands than vice versa, although these health and social behaviors do not appear to influence husbands{\textquoteright} cognitive decline. In conclusion, these results underscore the importance of considering spousal education in comprehending the complexities of cognitive decline within dyadic relationships.

}, keywords = {Cognitive decline, dyadic relationships, Education, spouse}, issn = {1873-5347}, doi = {10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116603}, author = {Liu, Hui and Chopik, William J and Shrout, M Rosie and Wang, Juwen} } @article {12413, title = {Marital Loss and Cognitive Function: Does Timing Matter?}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology, Series B}, volume = {77}, year = {2022}, pages = {1916-1927}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: This study examines the association between age at marital loss (i.e., divorce or widowhood) and cognitive function in later life and whether the association differs by gender.

METHODS: We used mixed-effects models, drawing on longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2016). The analytical samples included older adults aged 51 and older who had ever been widowed (N=5,639 with 25,537 person-waves) or divorced (N=10,685 with 50,689 person-waves).

RESULTS: We find that those who were widowed at younger ages had lower cognitive function than their counterparts who were widowed at older ages, for both men and women, after controlling for covariates. Household income and health-related factors partially accounted for the positive association between age at widowhood and cognitive function. Those who divorced at younger ages also had lower cognitive function than their counterparts who divorced at older ages, but this association was only present among men, not women. Health-related factors partially accounted for the associations between age at divorce and cognitive function among men.

DISCUSSION: Findings highlight the importance of considering the role of timing of marital loss in cognitive health among older adults.

}, keywords = {Cognition, Divorce, gender, Timing of life course events, Widowhood}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbac069}, author = {Zhang, Zhenmei and Liu, Hui and Zhang, Yan} } @article {12221, title = {A National Study of Racial-Ethnic Differences in COVID-19 Concerns among Older Americans: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study.}, journal = {The Journal of Gerontology, Series B }, volume = {77}, year = {2022}, pages = {e134-e141}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: Concerns about COVID-19 is an important emotional reaction to the pandemic and represents a key pandemic-related mental health outcome. We provide the first population-based evidence of racial-ethnic differences in COVID-19 concerns among older Americans during the COVID-19 outbreak.

METHODS: We analyzed data from the 2020 Health and Retirement Study COVID-19 project. The sample included 2,879 respondents (aged 50 and older) who were interviewed from June to September 2020 and had completed measures on COVID-19 concerns and other key covariates. Ordinary least squares regression models were estimated to assess racial-ethnic differences in COVID-19 concerns. Formal mediation analysis was conducted to test potential mediating roles of exposures to COVID-19 risks, preexisting health status, and socioeconomic resources in accounting for racial-ethnic differences in COVID-19 concerns.

RESULTS: Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic Americans showed significantly greater concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic than non-Hispanic White Americans. Racial-ethnic minority older adults also had higher proportions of knowing someone who had contracted or died from COVID-19 than White older adults. Unequal exposures to COVID-19 risks by race-ethnicity and, to a lesser degree, preexisting health inequalities accounted for only part of the racial-ethnic differences in COVID-19 concerns.

DISCUSSION: Our findings call for more research and policy interventions to lessen the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 experienced by older adults of racial-ethnic minority groups.

}, keywords = {COVID-19, Health Disparities, Minority aging, race-ethnicity}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbab171}, author = {Lin, Zhiyong and Liu, Hui} } @article {11731, title = {Parental Death and Cognitive Impairment: An Examination by Gender and Race-ethnicity.}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology, Series B}, volume = {76}, year = {2022}, pages = {1164-1176}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: We provide the first nationally representative longitudinal study of cognitive impairment in relation to parental death from childhood through early adulthood, midlife, and later adulthood, with attention to heterogeneity in the experience of parental death.

METHOD: We analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study (2000-2016). The sample included 13,392 respondents, contributing 72,860 person-periods. Cognitive impairment was assessed using the modified version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS). Discrete-time hazard regression models were estimated to predict the odds of cognitive impairment.

RESULTS: Both exposure and timing of parental death were related to risk of cognitive impairment in late life and associations vary by gender. The detrimental effect of a father{\textquoteright}s death was comparable for daughters and sons although exposure to mother{\textquoteright}s death had stronger effects on daughter{\textquoteright}s than son{\textquoteright}s risk of cognitive impairment. Father{\textquoteright}s death at younger ages had the strongest effect on sons{\textquoteright} late-life risk of cognitive impairment whereas mother{\textquoteright}s death in middle adulthood had the strongest effect on daughters{\textquoteright} risk. We found no significant racial-ethnic variation in the association between parental death and cognitive impairment.

DISCUSSION: It is important to explore the gender-specific pathways through which parental death leads to increased risk of cognitive impairment so that effective interventions can be implemented to reduce risk.

}, keywords = {cognitive impairment, gender, parental death, race-ethnicity}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbab125}, author = {Liu, Hui and Lin, Zhiyong and Debra Umberson} } @article {11694, title = {A national longitudinal study of marital quality and cognitive decline among older men and women}, journal = {Social Science \& Medicine}, volume = {282}, year = {2021}, pages = {114151}, abstract = {We provide one of the first national longitudinal studies of the association between trajectories of marital quality and cognitive functioning among older adults, with close attention paid to gender differences. Data were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) 2006{\textendash}2016. Marital quality trajectories were assessed at three waves: 2006/2008, 2010/2012, and 2014/2016. Cognitive trajectories were assessed at five waves: 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. The final analytic sample included 7901 respondents age 50 and older (4334 men and 3567 women) who were either married or cohabiting during the study period. Results from parallel linear growth curve models suggest that among older adults, initial positive marital quality was associated with better initial cognition, and initial negative marital quality was associated with worse initial cognition. Results from multiple group analysis further suggest that marital quality was significantly associated with men{\textquoteright}s cognitive trajectories but not women{\textquoteright}s. Among men, an increase in positive marital quality was associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline, whereas an increase in negative marital quality was associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline. These findings suggest that older men who experience a decline in marital quality may be vulnerable to cognitive decline and that reducing marital strain and improving marital quality may protect men{\textquoteright}s cognitive health in later life.}, keywords = {Aging, cognitive function, gender, Marital quality}, isbn = {0277-9536}, doi = {10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114151}, author = {Liu, Hui and Zhang, Zhenmei and Zhang, Yan} } @article {doi:10.1089/heq.2021.0034, title = {Sexual Identity and Self-Rated Health in Midlife: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study}, journal = {Health Equity}, volume = {5}, year = {2021}, pages = {587-595}, abstract = {Purpose: This study examined health disparities among U.S. sexual minority people in midlife{\textemdash}a critical life course stage that is largely overlooked in the sexual minority health literature. Methods: Data were drawn from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study. We restricted the analysis to respondents aged 50{\textendash}65. The final sample consisted of 3623 respondents, including 3418 self-identified heterosexual individuals, 99 self-identified gay/lesbian individuals, 38 self-identified bisexual individuals, and 68 respondents who identified as {\textquotedblleft}something else.{\textquotedblright} Ordinal logistic regression models were estimated to predict the odds of reporting better health. Results: Bisexual midlifers reported significantly worse health than their heterosexual counterparts after age, gender, and race-ethnicity are controlled for (OR=0.43, 95\% CI=0.25{\textendash}0.76); this health disparity is mostly explained by marital status, socioeconomic status, and health behaviors (in particular smoking and exercising). We did not find evidence of a self-rated health disadvantage among gay and lesbian midlifers relative to their heterosexual counterparts. Conclusion: These findings highlight the diversity of the sexual minority population in midlife. Public policies and programs should be designed and implemented at the interpersonal and institutional levels to eliminate health and other social disadvantages among sexual minority people, in particular bisexual people, in midlife.}, keywords = {Self-rated health, sexual identity}, doi = {10.1089/heq.2021.0034}, author = {Liu, Hui and Hsieh, Ning and Lai, Wen-hua} }