Educational and Gender Gaps in Cognitive Impairment-Free Life Expectancy across Europe

Donata Stonkute , Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)
Angelo Lorenti, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Jo Mhairi Hale, University of St Andrews

Dementia is a significant global concern, impacting care dependency and disability among older individuals. In Europe, around 14.1 million people live with dementia, a number projected to increase to 15.9 million by 2040. The associated costs have already surpassed 226.7 billion euros in 2022. Women and those with lower education levels are particularly vulnerable to cognitive impairment. While research has started exploring this connection, studies on how long individuals live with and without cognitive impairment by gender and education in European countries are limited. Our study addresses this gap by estimating Cognitive Impairment-Free Life Expectancy (CIFLE) and Cognitively Impaired Life Expectancy (CILE) by gender and education across 10 European countries using data from the Survey of Health Aging and Retirement in Europe. Preliminary findings reveal gender and education-based disparities, with higher education associated with a longer cognitively healthy life. Women, although having higher CIFLE estimates, spend a larger share of their remaining lives cognitively impaired. In most countries, both men and women with a lower education level experience more remaining years of cognitive impairment compared to years of cognitive health at age 50. Further analysis will refine these estimates and explore different operationalizations of cognitive impairment measures.

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 Presented in Session 22. Longevity and Health