תפקוד קוגניטיבי של ישראלים בני 50 ומעלה

The overall goal of the present study was to evaluate the cognitive functioning of Israelis 50 years and older, using a cross-sectional analysis of the first wave of SHARE-Israel. The following cognitive screens were used: time orientation, arithmetic, verbal learning, verbal recall, word fluency and subjective reading and writing abilities. Multivariate analyses of each of the cognitive functions, using age, gender, education, household income, and population group (e.g., veteran Israeli Jews, Arabs, new immigrants from the Former Soviet Union) as potential predictors, were conducted. Older age and lower levels of education were the most consistent predictors of impaired cognitive function. Males were significantly more likely than females to have an accurate performance on the arithmetic task and an impaired performance on the verbal learning task. In addition, new immigrants from the Former Soviet Union were significantly more likely than veteran Israeli Jews to rate their reading and writing abilities as impaired. Israeli-Arabs were significantly less likely than veteran Israeli Jews to have an impaired performance on the verbal learning task and new immigrants from the Former Soviet Union were significantly more likely to have an impaired performance on that task. Furthermore, Israeli-Arabs were significantly less likely than veteran Israeli Jews to have an impaired performance on the verbal recall task. Similarly to past research, it was found that age and educational level were the most consistent predictors of cognitive function. The study also revealed gender disparities that are consistent with the world literature. Further research is needed to better evaluate the population group disparities identified in the present study.