{
  "abstract": "Our previous study had confirmed that lifetime intellectual cognitive reserve (LICR) is associated with better late-life cognition. However, whether LICR can delay cognitive decline remains unknown. We systematically examined the influence of LICR on cognitive trajectories, as well as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) risk, and whether such associations differ by sex. A total of 1308 cognitively intact individuals (mean age 65.54 years) were included. Information on early educational attainment, midlife occupational complexity and mental leisure activities after retirement collected at baseline was used to construct LICR, while cognitive domain scores were derived from several neuropsychological tests assessed at baseline and twice follow-up, using confirmatory factor analysis. Data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models and Cox regression models. Compared to participants with lower LICR, those with higher LICR exhibited significantly slower language ability decline (β = 0.071, 95% CI 0.002–0.14, p = 0.043), reduced risk of MCI (HR = 0.44, 95% CI 0.23–0.85, p = 0.014) and non-amnestic MCI (naMCI) (HR = 0.09, 95% CI 0.03–0.34, p < 0.001), rather than aMCI. Examination of its components showed that higher educational attainment was related to slower language ability decline (β = 0.014, 95% CI 0.004–0.02, p = 0.004), and it was also associated with reduced risk of naMCI (HR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.74–0.94, p = 0.004). Analyses by sex revealed that women with higher LICR had slower language ability decline (β = 0.04, 95% CI 0.01–0.07, p = 0.003). Among older adults, especially women, higher LICR was associated with preserved language ability and a lower risk of naMCI.\n\nSupplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-026-00927-8.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China",
    "State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China",
    "Beijing Aging Brain Rejuvenation Initiative (BABRI) Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China",
    "School of Systems Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China",
    "Beijing Key Laboratory of Cognitive Intelligence for Elderly Brain Health, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China",
    "Faculty of Education, School of Special Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China",
    "Institute for Advanced Study, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China",
    "Innovation Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, 250117 Shandong China"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
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        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Dandan Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Mingxi Dang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Shijie Long"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Jun Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Xiaoyi Hu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Xin Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        4,
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Zhanjun Zhang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4nfn3hgjcyevh.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1007/s10433-026-00927-8",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13710482/",
  "id": "4nfn3hgjcyevh",
  "issns": [
    "1613-9372",
    "1613-9380"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-026-00927-8",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2738|Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research"
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  "openalex": "W7171746747",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13710482",
  "pmid": "42931880",
  "published": "2026-07-29",
  "publisher": "Springer",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4nfn3hgjcyevh.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:21:27Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13710482",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-026-00927-8"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2738|Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
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  ],
  "title": "Sex differences in the effects of lifetime intellectual cognitive reserve on language trajectory and risk of non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a longitudinal study",
  "title_text": "Sex differences in the effects of lifetime intellectual cognitive reserve on language trajectory and risk of non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a longitudinal study",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-31T12:21:27Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4nfn3hgjcyevh",
  "venue": "European Journal of Ageing",
  "versions": []
}