Abstract Background With the increasing global aging population, cognitive impairment, particularly Alzheimer’s disease (AD), has become a
Abstract Background With the increasing global aging population, cognitive impairment, particularly Alzheimer’s disease (AD), has become an escalating public health and economic concern. Recent research has increasingly focused on the relationship between female reproductive factors and cognitive health. This study explores the association between reproductive history factors and cognitive performance in women aged 60 and older in the US, providing insights for the prevention and management of cognitive impairment. Methods We analyzed participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2011 and 2014. The cognitive performance was assessed by the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease (CERAD) Word Learning sub-test, Animal Fluency test (AFT), and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), in relation to reproductive history variables like age of menarche, menopause, reproductive span, number of pregnancies, and parity. Statistical analyses included weighted linear regression for continuous variables and weighted chi-square tests for categorical variables, with adjustments for age, BMI, alcohol intake, smoking, PIR, education, race/ethnicity, hypertension, and diabetes. Results A total of 698 (weighted sample was 25,558,437) women aged 60 years or older were included in the study. Parity negatively impacted cognitive performance, women with ≥ 5 parity showing reductions in AFT (β = -2.1, p = 0.032), DSST (β = -14, p
