Positive Effects of Education on Cognitive Functioning Depend on Clinical Status and Neuropathological SeverityBackground: Variability in cognitive functions in healthy and pathological aging is often explained by educational attainment. However, it remains unclear to which extent different disease states alter protective effects of education. We aimed to investigate whether protective effects of education on cognition depend on 1) clinical diagnosis severity, and 2) the neuropathological burden within a diagnosis in a memory clinic setting. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included 108 patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD, median age 71, IQR [66‐78], 43% men), 190 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI, median age 78, IQR [73‐82], 44% men), and 245 with Alzheimer’s disease dementia (AD) (median age 80, IQR [76‐84], 35% men). We combined visual ratings of hippocampal atrophy, global atrophy, and white matter hyperintensities on MRI into a single neuropathology score. To investigate whether the contribution of education to cognitive performance differed across SCD, MCI, and AD, we employed several multiple linear regression models, stratified by diagnosis and adjusted for age, sex, and neurodegeneration