Psychiatry RAISR4D

Numeracy, literacy, and formal education as mechanisms of inequities in late-life cognitive performance between Indigenous-speaking and non-Indigenous-speaking older Mexican adults

23/05/2026

AI Summary

Speaking an Indigenous language associated with significantly lower memory, language, executive function, and orientation scores.
Education mediated 31% to 61% of disparities; literacy 11% to 26%; numeracy 2% to 9% of the association.
High-quality education may reduce cognitive disparities; future studies should assess Indigeneity beyond language, including self-identification and colourism.

Alzheimers Dement. 2026 May;22(5):e71500. doi: 10.1002/alz.71500.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Indigenous adults face educational inequities, but it is unclear how education, literacy, and numeracy contribute to disparities in late-life cognition.

METHODS: This study included 1958 adults ages 55+ (mean 68.1 [8.9 SD] years) from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) Ancillary Study on Cognitive Aging (Mex-Cog; 2016). Linear regression models estimated associations between speaking an Indigenous language (vs. not) and cognitive factor scores, adjusting for sociodemographic covariates. Mediation analyses decomposed associations into direct and indirect effects via education, literacy, and numeracy.

RESULTS: Eleven percent of participants spoke an Indigenous language, which was associated with lower memory (β [95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.31 [-0.40, -0.21]), language (-0.65 [-0.75, -0.55]), executive function (-0.60 [-0.73, -0.47]), and orientation (-0.31 [-0.44, -0.18]) scores. Education explained 31%-61% of the association, literacy 11%-26%, and numeracy 2%-9%.

DISUSSION: High-quality education may help reduce cognitive disparities in Mexico. Future research should address data limitations by collecting measures of Indigeneity beyond language use (e.g., self-identification, colorism).

PMID:42174393 | DOI:10.1002/alz.71500

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