Influence of intergenerational social mobility on brain structure and global cognition: findings from the Whitehall II study across 20 years

Abstract

Background Whether changes in socioeconomic position (SEP) across generations, i.e. intergenerational social mobility, influence brain degeneration and cognition in later life is unclear. Objective To examine the association of social mobility, brain grey matter structure and global cognition. Methods We analysed T1 brain MRI data of 771 old adults (69.8 ± 5.2 years) from the Whitehall II MRI substudy, with MRI data collected between 2012 and 2016. Social mobility was defined by SEP changes from their fathers’ generation to mid-life status. Brain structural outcomes include grey matter (GM) volume and cortical thickness (CT) covering whole brain. Global cognition was measured by the Mini Mental State Examination. We firstly conducted analysis of covariance to identify regional difference of GM volume and cortical thickness across stable high/low and upward/downward mobility groups, followed with diagonal reference models studying the relationship between mobility and brain cognitive outcomes, apart from SEP origin and destination. We additionally conducted linear mixed models to check mobility interaction over time, where global cognition was derived from three phases across 2002 to 2017. Results Social mobility related to 48 out of the 136 GM volume regions and 4 out of the 68 CT regions. Declined volume was particularly seen in response to downward mobility, whereas no independent association of mobility with global cognition was observed. Conclusion Despite no strong evidence supporting direct influence of mobility on global cognition in later life, imaging findings warranted a severe level of neurodegeneration due to downward mobility from their father’s generation.