Cognitive reserve moderates the relationship between hippocampal volume and cognitive decline – but not gait decline

Cognitive reserve (CR) accounts for individual differences in the relationship between brain health and clinical status. Common proxies of CR include education, and physical and social leisure activities. Greater CR allows individuals to cope better with poor brain health, and thereby delay the onset of cognitive impairment and dementia. Yet, whether CR protects against age‐related gait and cognitive decline is not well‐understood. Here, we examined whether CR moderates the relationship between hippocampal volume (a common marker of brain health) and age‐related decline in gait and cognition.