Table 3. Association of ELCE and the Slope of Cognitive Declinea.
| Variables | Model 1 | Model 2 | Model 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate (SE) | P value | Estimate (SE) | P value | Estimate (SE) | P value | |
| Adjusted R2 | 0.012 | NA | 0.088 | NA | 0.087 | NA |
| Intercept | –0.141 (0.008) | <.001 | –0.033 (0.016) | .04 | –0.032 (0.016) | .049 |
| Age at death | –0.000 (0.001) | .94 | 0.001 (0.001) | .52 | 0.001 (0.001) | .52 |
| Women | –0.027 (0.015) | .07 | –0.015 (0.015) | .30 | –0.015 (0.015) | .32 |
| Educational level | –0.004 (0.003) | .13 | –0.005 (0.003) | .08 | –0.005 (0.003) | .07 |
| ELCE | 0.035 (0.011) | .001 | 0.028 (0.011) | .007 | 0.017 (0.021) | .44 |
| Global AD score | NA | NA | –0.135 (0.017) | <.001 | –0.136 (0.017) | <.001 |
| ELCE × global AD score interaction | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0.015 (0.024) | .53 |
Abbreviations: AD, Alzheimer disease; ELCE, early-life cognitive enrichment.
Derived from linear regression models having slope of cognition change as the outcome. Model 1 is the reference model adjusted only for demographics, and the result shows that ELCE explained only 1% of the variance in the cognitive decline rate. AD pathology explained an additional 8% of the variance (model 2). However, an interaction term between ELCE and the global AD pathology score did not reach statistical significance (model 3), suggesting that ELCE did not modify the association of AD pathology score with cognitive decline. In addition, comparison of regression coefficients between model 1 and model 2 shows that the association of the ELCE is attenuated after AD pathology is included in the model. This finding suggests that part of the association between ELCE and cognitive decline rate might be explained by lower AD pathology score, and the other part was independent of it.