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.

中文翻译：

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代际社会流动性对大脑结构和整体认知的影响：20 年 Whitehall II 研究的结果


背景 跨代社会经济地位 （SEP） 的变化，即代际社会流动性，是否会影响以后生活中的大脑退化和认知尚不清楚。目的 探讨社会流动性、脑灰质结构与整体认知的关系。方法 我们分析了 Whitehall II MRI 子研究中 771 名老年人 （69.8 ± 5.2 岁） 的 T1 脑部 MRI 数据，并在 2012 年至 2016 年间收集了 MRI 数据。社会流动性是由 SEP 从他们父亲那一代到中年状态的变化来定义的。大脑结构结果包括覆盖整个大脑的灰质 （GM） 体积和皮质厚度 （CT）。通过简易精神状态检查来测量整体认知。我们首先进行协方差分析，以确定稳定的高/低和上/下活动组 GM 体积和皮质厚度的区域差异，然后对角线参考模型研究活动度与大脑认知结果之间的关系，除了 SEP 起点和目的地。我们还进行了线性混合模型来检查移动性随时间的变化，其中全局认知来自 2002 年至 2017 年的三个阶段。结果 社会流动性与 136 个 GM 体积区域中的 48 个和 68 个 CT 区域中的 4 个相关。在向下移动时尤其可以看到体积下降，而没有观察到移动性与整体认知的独立关联。结论 尽管没有强有力的证据支持活动能力对晚年整体认知的直接影响，但影像学检查结果证明，由于他们父亲那一代的向下移动性，存在严重程度的神经退行性变。