O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University-Bloomington, Bloomington, U.S.A.
Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, U.S.A.
J Aging Soc Policy. 2024 Sep 2;36(5):809-828. doi: 10.1080/08959420.2023.2195785. Epub 2023 Mar 28.
Two-thirds of people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) live in low- and middle-income countries, and this figure is expected to rise as these populations are rapidly aging. Since evidence demonstrates links between socioeconomic status and slower rates of cognitive decline, protecting older adults' cognitive function in resource-limited countries that lack the infrastructure to cope with ADRD is crucial to reduce the burden it places on these populations and their health systems. While cash transfers are a promising intervention to promote healthy cognitive aging, factors such as household wealth and level of education often confound the ability to make causal inferences on the impact of cash transfers and cognitive function. This study uses a quasi-experimental design, leveraging an exogenous expansion to the Old Age Pension for men in South Africa, to approximate causal associations with cognitive function. We found evidence that there is a potential benefit of cash transfers at an earlier age for older individuals. As such, transfers such as pensions or other forms of direct basic income transfers may hold promise as potential interventions to promote healthy cognitive aging.
三分之二的阿尔茨海默病和相关痴呆症（ADRD）患者生活在中低收入国家，随着这些国家人口的迅速老龄化，这一数字预计还会上升。由于有证据表明社会经济地位与认知衰退速度较慢之间存在关联，因此在缺乏应对 ADRD 基础设施的资源有限的国家，保护老年人的认知功能对于减轻这些人群及其卫生系统的负担至关重要。虽然现金转移是促进健康认知老化的一种有前途的干预措施，但家庭财富和教育水平等因素常常会干扰对现金转移和认知功能影响的因果推断能力。本研究采用准实验设计，利用南非男性老年养恤金的外生扩张，来近似与认知功能的因果关系。我们有证据表明，现金转移对年龄较大的人在较早阶段可能有潜在的好处。因此，养恤金或其他形式的直接基本收入转移等转移支付可能有希望成为促进健康认知老化的潜在干预措施。
