Widowhood and cognition among older women in India: New insights on widowhood duration and mediators
Background: Widowhood, a marital status that disproportionately affects older women, has been associated with poorer health compared to married individuals. However, relatively little is known about the association between widowhood in later-life and cognitive health in low- and middle-income countr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2022-09-01
|
| Series: | SSM: Population Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235282732200221X |
| _version_ | 1811340083559661568 |
|---|---|
| author | Urvashi Jain Hui Liu Kenneth M. Langa Madeline Farron Mohammed Kabeto Jinkook Lee |
| author_facet | Urvashi Jain Hui Liu Kenneth M. Langa Madeline Farron Mohammed Kabeto Jinkook Lee |
| author_sort | Urvashi Jain |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Widowhood, a marital status that disproportionately affects older women, has been associated with poorer health compared to married individuals. However, relatively little is known about the association between widowhood in later-life and cognitive health in low- and middle-income countries. Methods: To address this research gap, we used data from the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (2017–19) to investigate the widowhood disparity in cognitive health among mid-aged and older women in India, including how this relationship varies by the duration of widowhood. We further examined the extent to which economic, social, and health conditions mediate this association. Results: Cognition scores for widowed women were on average lower by almost 0.1 standard deviations compared to married women. Overall, this disparity increased with widowhood duration, with non-linearities in this association. The disparity in cognition scores increased with widowhood duration up to twenty years but did not increase further among those with longer widowhood duration. Worse physical and mental health were found to mediate almost thirty percent of the total association between widowhood and cognition. These mediators were most useful in explaining the association between lower cognition and widowhood among women who experienced widowhood for ten years or longer. Conclusion: The study highlights the significant disadvantage in cognitive functioning among older widowed women in India. The study also provides evidence on potential mediators, suggesting differential effects of mediators at different stages of widowhood. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T18:36:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-71e036c4978945bba9c28897d07ae675 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2352-8273 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T18:36:13Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SSM: Population Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-71e036c4978945bba9c28897d07ae6752022-12-22T02:34:52ZengElsevierSSM: Population Health2352-82732022-09-0119101242Widowhood and cognition among older women in India: New insights on widowhood duration and mediatorsUrvashi Jain0Hui Liu1Kenneth M. Langa2Madeline Farron3Mohammed Kabeto4Jinkook Lee5Department of Economics, Finance and Real Estate, Mitchell College of Business, University of South Alabama, USA; Corresponding author. Department of Economics, Finance and Real Estate, Mitchell College of Business, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA, 36688.Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, USADepartment of Internal Medicine, Institute for Social Research, and VA Center for Clinical Management Research, University of Michigan, USADepartment of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, USADepartment of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, USACenter for Economic and Social Research, and Department of Economics, University of Southern California, USABackground: Widowhood, a marital status that disproportionately affects older women, has been associated with poorer health compared to married individuals. However, relatively little is known about the association between widowhood in later-life and cognitive health in low- and middle-income countries. Methods: To address this research gap, we used data from the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (2017–19) to investigate the widowhood disparity in cognitive health among mid-aged and older women in India, including how this relationship varies by the duration of widowhood. We further examined the extent to which economic, social, and health conditions mediate this association. Results: Cognition scores for widowed women were on average lower by almost 0.1 standard deviations compared to married women. Overall, this disparity increased with widowhood duration, with non-linearities in this association. The disparity in cognition scores increased with widowhood duration up to twenty years but did not increase further among those with longer widowhood duration. Worse physical and mental health were found to mediate almost thirty percent of the total association between widowhood and cognition. These mediators were most useful in explaining the association between lower cognition and widowhood among women who experienced widowhood for ten years or longer. Conclusion: The study highlights the significant disadvantage in cognitive functioning among older widowed women in India. The study also provides evidence on potential mediators, suggesting differential effects of mediators at different stages of widowhood.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235282732200221XWidowhoodIndiaCognitionOlder adults |
| spellingShingle | Urvashi Jain Hui Liu Kenneth M. Langa Madeline Farron Mohammed Kabeto Jinkook Lee Widowhood and cognition among older women in India: New insights on widowhood duration and mediators SSM: Population Health Widowhood India Cognition Older adults |
| title | Widowhood and cognition among older women in India: New insights on widowhood duration and mediators |
| title_full | Widowhood and cognition among older women in India: New insights on widowhood duration and mediators |
| title_fullStr | Widowhood and cognition among older women in India: New insights on widowhood duration and mediators |
| title_full_unstemmed | Widowhood and cognition among older women in India: New insights on widowhood duration and mediators |
| title_short | Widowhood and cognition among older women in India: New insights on widowhood duration and mediators |
| title_sort | widowhood and cognition among older women in india new insights on widowhood duration and mediators |
| topic | Widowhood India Cognition Older adults |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235282732200221X |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT urvashijain widowhoodandcognitionamongolderwomeninindianewinsightsonwidowhooddurationandmediators AT huiliu widowhoodandcognitionamongolderwomeninindianewinsightsonwidowhooddurationandmediators AT kennethmlanga widowhoodandcognitionamongolderwomeninindianewinsightsonwidowhooddurationandmediators AT madelinefarron widowhoodandcognitionamongolderwomeninindianewinsightsonwidowhooddurationandmediators AT mohammedkabeto widowhoodandcognitionamongolderwomeninindianewinsightsonwidowhooddurationandmediators AT jinkooklee widowhoodandcognitionamongolderwomeninindianewinsightsonwidowhooddurationandmediators |