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Social support and verbal interaction are differentially associated with cognitive function in midlife and older age.

ABSTRACT: Social engagement is associated with healthy aging and preserved cognition. Two dimensions of engagement, verbal interactions and perceived support, likely impact cognition via distinct mechanistic pathways. We explored the cognitive benefit of each construct among enrollees (N = 1,052, mean age = 60.2 years) in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention study, who provide neuropsychological and sociobehavioral data at two-year intervals. Outcomes included six cognitive factor scores representing key domains of executive function and memory. Key predictors included self-reported perceived social support and weekly verbal interaction. Results indicated that after adjusting for lifestyle covariates, social support was positively associated with Speed and Flexibility and that verbal interactions were associated with Verbal Learning and Memory. These findings suggest that support, which may buffer stress, and verbal interaction, an accessible, aging-friendly form of environmental enrichment, are uniquely beneficial. Both are integral in the design of clinical and community interventions and programs that promote successful aging.

SUBMITTER: Zuelsdorff ML

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6003840 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Social support and verbal interaction are differentially associated with cognitive function in midlife and older age.

Zuelsdorff Megan L ML Koscik Rebecca L RL Okonkwo Ozioma C OC Peppard Paul E PE Hermann Bruce P BP Sager Mark A MA Johnson Sterling C SC Engelman Corinne D CD

Neuropsychology, development, and cognition. Section B, Aging, neuropsychology and cognition 20171215 2

Social engagement is associated with healthy aging and preserved cognition. Two dimensions of engagement, verbal interactions and perceived support, likely impact cognition via distinct mechanistic pathways. We explored the cognitive benefit of each construct among enrollees (N = 1,052, mean age = 60.2 years) in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention study, who provide neuropsychological and sociobehavioral data at two-year intervals. Outcomes included six cognitive factor scores repr ...[more]

PMID: 29241403

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Project description:INTRODUCTION:Maintenance of cognitive function into old age is important for ageing populations. Researchers seek to identify modifiable risk and protective factors for cognitive function. One such modifiable factor is functional social support, that is, one's perception of whether their social network can provide resources such as material help, companionship, information and emotional contact, if needed. While the literature generally reports positive associations between functional social support and cognitive function, results vary according to study methods such as the tool used to measure functional social support or the specific cognitive domain under investigation. Our review will summarise the association between functional social support and cognitive function in middle-aged and older-aged adults who reside in any setting (eg, community dwelling, long-term care facilities). We will also identify sources of discrepant findings between studies. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:This protocol was reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocols guideline. PubMed, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Scopus will be searched from inception to the present using a search strategy developed with a medical librarian's help. We will supplement the database searches with a grey literature search. English-language or French-language studies with a comparison group will be subject to inclusion, regardless of the measures used to assess functional social support or cognitive function. We will assess risk of bias with the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool-Version 2 or the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, narratively synthesise the extracted data and conduct a meta-analysis of studies with similar characteristics (eg, sample age and sex, cognitive function outcomes). Two independent raters will screen articles and assess risk of bias. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:This review is timely given the push toward early diagnosis and treatment of dementia/major neurocognitive disorder and other types of cognitive impairment. This protocol does not require a formal ethics review. We will publish our findings in a peer-reviewed journal.

Project description:ObjectivesTo explore the associations of social support, and cognitive activity with cognitive impairment incidence, and further examine the mediation effect of cognitive activity on the association between social support and cognitive impairment incidence based on a nationwide elderly Chinese cohort.MethodsWe collected the participants from an ongoing cohort of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). A total of 9394 older adults aged 65 or more years and free of cognitive impairment who participated in the CLHLS between 2008 and 2018 were included. The information on social support and cognitive activity was collected through a questionnaire. The incident cognitive impairment cases were identified through the Mini-Mental State Examination scale (MMSE). Cox proportional hazard regression models were conducted to calculate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of social support and cognitive activity associated with cognitive impairment. We used casual mediation models to assess the indirect association of cognitive activities underlying the association between social support and cognitive impairment.ResultsThe adjusted HRs (95% CI) of incident cognitive impairment were 0.956 (0.932 to 0.980), and 0.895 (0.859 to 0.933) associated with per 1 score increase in social support and cognitive activity score, respectively. Better adherence to social support was associated with a higher cognitive activity score (adjusted β = 0.046, 95% CI[0.032-0.060]). The baseline cognitive activity, as well as the mean cognitive activity at baseline and during the first follow-up wave, mediate the association between social support and the incidence of cognitive impairment, accounting for 11.4% and 12.6% of the total association, respectively. The participants who were aged 80 years or older, or those with mild daily functional limitations gained more benefits in the development of cognitive activity related to social support, leading to a reduction in the risks of cognitive impairment.ConclusionThe results of this nationwide cohort provide consistent evidence linking social support, and cognitive activity to reduced risk of subsequent cognitive impairment incidence. These findings provide additional evidence to inform the social strategies to prevent cognitive impairment incidence in elderly people.

Dataset Information

Social support and verbal interaction are differentially associated with cognitive function in midlife and older age.

Publications

Social support and verbal interaction are differentially associated with cognitive function in midlife and older age.

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