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Does Bilingualism Protect against Cognitive Decline? Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Evidence from Ethnically Diverse Older Adults

Poster Session D - Monday, March 9, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Lihua Xia^1,2 (), Ina Demetriou², Kshipra Gurunandan², Karin Meeker³, Didac Vidal-Pineiro⁴, Richard Henson²; ¹Huazhong University of Science and Technology, ²MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, ³University of North Texas Health Science Center, ⁴University of Oslo

The benefits of bilingualism for maintaining late-life cognition remain controversial, with mixed evidence across populations. We conducted the first large-scale, longitudinal investigation of bilingualism in an ethno-racially diverse cohort, with 4,140 participants at baseline (1,013 bilingual) and 1,760 individuals (522 bilinguals) with up to four follow-ups. Cognitive outcomes included dementia status (unimpaired vs. probable dementia) and scores on executive function and episodic memory factors, with ethnicity and gender as potential moderators. Longitudinal analyses revealed that bilingualism predicted slower episodic memory decline irrespective of ethnicity, gender, education, baseline age, and practice effects. However, the cross-sectional associations between bilingualism and cognition varied by ethnicity and gender. These findings suggest that while the influence of ethnicity on the cognitive effects of bilingualism in cross-sectional differences may reflect sociodemographic factors, the longitudinal benefit of bilingualism on memory is consistent with a neuroprotective benefit. Overall, this study provides novel insights into how bilingualism shapes cognitive aging and highlights its potential for promoting late-life cognitive resilience.

Topic Area: EXECUTIVE PROCESSES: Development &aging