Abstract
The association between education and cognition is well-established. The role of spousal education has not been explored. We estimate the independent effects of own and spousal education on cognition in Mexico, a developing country experiencing rapid aging. We analyze 3,696 husband-wife dyads (age 50+) from the 2012 Mexican Health and Aging Study. Summary cognitive scores for husbands and wives are factor scores derived from a single factor model and are modeled using seemingly unrelated regression. Education and cognition were correlated within couples. Having a better educated spouse was associated with better cognition above and beyond one’s own education. This remained significant even after adjustment for shared socioeconomic status, health conditions, and emotional support. In addition to one’s own education, older adults may draw cognitive benefits from their spouse’s education. Spousal education may improve cognition via shared health knowledge and cognitively stimulating environments.