Genes Related to Education Predict Frailty Among Older Adults in the United States

Genetic analysis of social-class mobility in five longitudinal studies

Brooke M Huibregtse, Breanne L Newell-Stamper, Benjamin W Domingue, Jason D Boardman and Anna Zajacova

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2021, vol. 76, issue 1, 173-183

Abstract: ObjectiveThis article expands on research that links education and frailty among older adults by considering the role of genes associated with education.MethodData come from a sample of 7,064 non-Hispanic, white adults participating in the 2004–2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Frailty was measured with two indices: (a) The Frailty Index which corresponds to a deficit accumulation model; and (b) The Paulson–Lichtenberg Frailty Index which corresponds to the biological syndrome/phenotype model. Genes associated with education were quantified using an additive polygenic score. Associations between the polygenic score and frailty indices were tested using a series of multilevel models, controlling for multiple observations for participants across waves.ResultsResults showed a strong and negative association between genes for education and frailty symptoms in later life. This association exists above and beyond years of completed education and we demonstrate that this association becomes weaker as older adults approach their 80s.DiscussionThe results contribute to the education–health literature by highlighting new and important pathways through which education might be linked to successful aging.

Keywords: Education; Functional health status; Genetics; Successful aging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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The Journals of Gerontology: Series B is currently edited by Psychological Sciences - S. Duke Han, PhD and Social Sciences - Jessica A Kelley, PhD, FGSA

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