Armed Forces Qualification Test as a Measure of Premorbid Intelligence

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Spoon

Thompson

et al. 2013

Summary In this longitudinal study we investigate the influence of childhood disadvantage on midlife hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation. Two mechanisms by which early life stress may affect later pathophysiology are through its influence on cognitive functioning or later socioeconomic (SES) disadvantage. We predicted that individual differences in young adult cognitive ability and midlife SES would mediate the influence of childhood disadvantage on midlife cortisol. On each of three nonconsecutive days, participants provided five salivary cortisol samples corresponding to their diurnal rhythm (N = 727 men; mean age 55, SD = 2.6). We calculated three measures of cortisol regulation (area-under-the curve cortisol reflecting total daytime cortisol output; cortisol-awakening-response; and wake-to-bed slope), averaging scores for each measure across multiple days. Childhood disadvantage combined four dichotomous indicators used previously by Rutter (1985): father low SES; mother education less than 12th grade; major family disruption/separation before age 18; and large family size (more than 5 siblings). The two mediators were a measure of general cognitive ability assessed at age 20 and highest achieved midlife SES. Men from more disadvantaged childhoods were significantly more likely to have dysregulated cortisol at midlife, with higher daytime cortisol levels decades after their childhood experience. Effects of childhood disadvantage were both direct and indirect. Cognitive ability and adult SES, however, only partially mediated the associations between early life stress and midlife cortisol. Specific indirect effects accounted for 33.8% of the total effect of childhood disadvantage [β = 0.12 (0.05; 0.18)] on total daytime cortisol. Associations remained significant after accounting for ethnicity, smoking status, and self-reported depressive symptoms.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Adult cognitive ability and socioeconomic status as mediators of the effects of childhood disadvantage on salivary cortisol in aging adults

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Spoon

Thompson

et al. 2013

“…GCA was assessed with the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT), a 50-min paper-and-pencil test with 100 multiple-choice items (Orme, Brehm, & Ree, 2001; Uhlaner, 1952). We used scores for the AFQT at average age 20 so that GCA measures were not confounded by age-related effects.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of Sleep Quality on Memory-Related Executive Functions in Middle Age

Rana

Panizzon

et al. 2017

J Int Neuropsychol Soc

Sleep quality was associated with visual-spatial recall and possible resistance to proactive/retroactive interference. It was also associated with updating in working memory and with set shifting, but only when working memory demands were relatively high. Thus, effects of sleep quality on midlife cognition appear to be at the intersection of executive function and memory processes. Subtle deficits in these age-susceptible cognitive functions may indicate increased risk for decline in cognitive abilities later in life that might be reduced by improved midlife sleep quality. (JINS, 2018, 24, 67-76).

“…The same version of the AFQT was administered to the participants 35 years previously (prior to military induction) with the same standardized instructions. Scores for the AFQT Form 7A at age 20 were acquired from military records and archived at the twin registry (Orme et al, 2001; Uhlaner, 1952). The AFQT is highly correlated (r=0.84) with measures of general cognitive ability such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (Wechsler, 1997a).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-sectional and 35-year longitudinal assessment of salivary cortisol and cognitive functioning: The Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging

Psychoneuroendocrinology

O’Brien

Hauger

et al. 2011

High levels of cortisol, a sign of potential hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation, have been associated with poor cognitive outcomes in older adults. Most cortisol research has focused on hippocampal-related abilities such as episodic memory; however, the presence of glucocorticoid receptors in the human prefrontal cortex suggests that cortisol regulation is likely to be associated with prefrontally-mediated executive function abilities. We hypothesized that elevated cortisol levels would be associated with poorer frontal-executive function in addition to episodic memory. We assessed cortisol from 15 saliva samples paralleling individual diurnal rhythms across three non-consecutive days in a group of 778 middle-aged twin men ages 51 to 60. Cognitive domains created from 24 standard measures included: general cognitive ability, verbal and visual-spatial ability, verbal and visual-spatial memory, short-term/ immediate memory, working memory, executive function, verbal fluency, abstract reasoning, and psychomotor processing speed. Adjusting for general cognitive ability at age 20, age, race, and multiple health and lifestyle indicators, higher levels of average area-under-the-curve cortisol output across three days were significantly associated with poorer performance in three domains: executive (primarily set-shifting) measures, processing speed, and visual-spatial memory. In a 35-year longitudinal component of the study, we also found that general cognitive ability at age 20 was a significant predictor of midlife cortisol levels. These results possibly support the notion that glucocorticoid exposure is associated with cognitive functions that are mediated by frontal-striatal systems, and is not specific to hippocampal-dependent memory. The results also suggest that the direction of effect is complex.