The divergent roles of childhood literacy and food availability in cognitive aging: evidence from two Chinese longitudinal datasets

Background and Objectives: While many studies have shown that childhood conditions influence cognitive function in later life, most combine literacy and food availability into a single measure. This approach may obscure the distinct effects of literacy and nutrition, which reflect different domains of childhood experiences and may play different roles in shaping trajectories of cognitive function over the life course. Research Design and Methods: This study explores this possibility using 2 complementary datasets, the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011–2018; N = 17,626; mean age = 60) and the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS, 1998–2018; N = 42,633; mean age = 85). Mixed-effects growth curve models are used to describe age-related cognitive trajectories and to assess how childhood literacy and food availability are associated with cognitive aging. Results: Results show that cognitive function declines with age in a nonlinear manner, remaining stable in early midlife, declining gradually in late midlife (aligning with China’s retirement age), and dropping sharply among the oldest-old. Moreover, cognitive disparities associated with childhood literacy generally widen with age, whereas disparities related to childhood food deprivation generally narrow across the life course. Discussion and Implications: These findings suggest that governments should expand opportunities for volunteering and other cognitively stimulating activities for retirees, and that it is important to distinguish among different domains of childhood adversity when studying cognitive aging.