Differences Between Elderly Women and Men in Cognitive Functioning and Quality of Life

Abstract

Today, there is still some controversy about the influence of the variable sex on cognitive functioning and quality of life in old age. The main objective of the study presented is to analyze possible differences between older men and women in relation to their cognitive abilities and quality of life. The study sample consists of 264 persons aged between 65 and 95 years from the provinces of Jaen and Granada who were assessed with a cognitive screening test, a verbal fluency test, a task of sustained attention, a task to assess learning potential, a working memory task, and of quality of life questionnaire. The results show that, once the educational level and age of participants is controlled, men show superior performance on cognitive screening tasks, working memory, sustained attention and verbal fluency; while women performance above men in verbal memory tasks and verbal learning. In quality of life, men show better health and greater independence, while women scored higher than men on social integration and use of social services.