Employment as a pathway for sex differences in ADRD

Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN

Investigators

Abstract

Project Summary Women are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and related dementias later in life. This pattern can be partially explained by sex-related biological differences and women's longer life expectancy. The remaining portion is hypothesized to reflect differences in social, economic, and policy conditions across the life course. Building on prior research, I hypothesize that women's historical patterns of employment have contributed to their greater probability of experiencing cognitive decline by diminishing their ability to cognitive enrichment through the life course and other valuable employment-related resources. The proposed Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) will give me protected time and resources to undertake additional training in cognitive neuroscience, retrospective life course data measurement, and survey cognitive health assessment. Supported by a team of highly accomplished mentors in neuroscience, psychology, gerontology, and population health, I will carry out innovative and rigorous quasi-experimental studies that approach the question of women's labor force participation implications for cognitive health from a life course perspective. First, I will use the Irish TILDA cohort to examine the effects of married women's labor force participation on their cognitive outcomes later in life. Second, I will use UK's ELSA data to study the effects of the introduction of paid and protected maternity leave on British women's cognitive outcomes later in life. Finally, I will use American HRS data to evaluate the impact of women's earlier retirement on their cognitive outcomes later in life. The datasets used have been selected for their unique strengths, which combine high-quality cognitive data and rich life course histories, and, in some cases, the genetic information of respondents. I will pursue the planned research together with a rigorous training plan. The skills and expertise I will gain will put me in a strong position to make major contributions to our understanding of cognitive health, become an independent NIH-funded researcher, and lay the foundation of my new research program in employment, policy, and cognitive health.