Dataset Information

Dynamic Longitudinal Associations Between Social Support and Cognitive Function: A Prospective Investigation of the Directionality of Associations.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To investigate the reciprocity of social support and cognitive function in late life.

Method

Analyses were based on three parallel repeat measures of social support and cognition from the Whitehall II cohort, providing 10-year follow-up of 6,863 participants (mean age 55.8 years, SD 6.0 at baseline). Alternative hypotheses were evaluated via four bivariate dual change score models: Full coupling model estimated mutual influences of social support and cognition on subsequent changes in each other; social causation model assumed a unidirectional influence from social support onto changes in cognition, while the opposite assumption was tested by health selection model; last, no coupling model suggested independent growth of these two sets of variables.

Results

A better cognition at the preceding stage was related to less positive changes in confiding support and less negative changes in practical support. In contrast, influences from social support on subsequent changes in cognition were not detected.

Discussion

This empirical study provides some evidence for the health selection mechanism, such that cognition modified changes in social support. The hypothesized neuroprotective effect of social support was not detectable.

SUBMITTER: Liao J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6146756 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Dynamic Longitudinal Associations Between Social Support and Cognitive Function: A Prospective Investigation of the Directionality of Associations.

Liao Jing J Muniz-Terrera Graciela G Head Jenny J Brunner Eric John EJ

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences 20180901 7

<h4>Objective</h4>To investigate the reciprocity of social support and cognitive function in late life.<h4>Method</h4>Analyses were based on three parallel repeat measures of social support and cognition from the Whitehall II cohort, providing 10-year follow-up of 6,863 participants (mean age 55.8 years, SD 6.0 at baseline). Alternative hypotheses were evaluated via four bivariate dual change score models: Full coupling model estimated mutual influences of social support and cognition on subsequ ...[more]

PMID: 27803025

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Project description:Social support is a well-established predictor of improved physical health outcomes among adults. Establishing whether maternal social support may have an inter-generational positive impact on their child's physical health will provide important information for developing potential interventions and policies. Elevated body mass index (BMI) is one indicator of child health that is linked to increased risk for cardiovascular disease and other morbidities later in life. There is some evidence that maternal social support is associated with improved child and adolescent weight status; however, no studies have examined whether specific aspects of social support are more impactful than others or whether support availability is differentially impactful across developmental stages. The present study examined whether maternal perceptions of specific types of social support (i.e., financial support, non-monetary instrumental support, partner emotional support, and having a close supportive contact) were associated with lower adolescent BMI z-scores using longitudinal data collected over a 15-year period from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 3146), which includes a high proportion of families experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage. Findings from linear regression models using specific types of social support measured across six waves of data collected over a 15-year period indicated that maternal perceptions of greater financial support were associated with lower adolescent BMI z-scores at 15 years (B = -0.05, 95% CI: -0.10, -0.004, P = 0.04), while the other types of support were not. Additional timing analyses demonstrated that perceived financial support during late childhood to adolescence was associated with lower adolescent BMI z-scores (B = -0.06, 95% CI: -0.11, -0.01, P = 0.01), whereas associations between support during infancy and early childhood were not detected. Study findings provide important insights for developing interventions and policies that improve maternal social supports to benefit child health.

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.

Project description:ObjectivesFactors that are responsible for age-related neurologic deterioration of noncognitive and cognitive processes may have a shared cause. We sought to examine the temporal, directional associations of handgrip strength and cognitive function in a national sample of aging Americans.DesignLongitudinal panel.SettingEnhanced interviews that included physical, biological, and psychosocial measures were completed in person. Core interviews were often conducted over the telephone.ParticipantsThe analytic sample included 14,775 Americans aged at least 50 years who participated in at least 2 waves of the 2006-2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study.MeasuresHandgrip strength was measured with a hand-held dynamometer. Participants were considered cognitively intact, mildly impaired, or severely impaired according to the Telephone Interview of Cognitive Status questionnaire. Separate lagged general estimating equations analyzed the directional associations of handgrip strength and cognitive function.ResultsThe overall time to follow-up was 2.1 ± 0.4 years. Every 5 kg higher handgrip strength was associated with 0.97 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.93, 0.99] lower odds for both future cognitive impairment and worse cognitive impairment. Those who were not weak had 0.54 (CI 0.43, 0.69) lower odds for future cognitive impairment and 0.57 (CI 0.46, 0.72) lower odds for future worse cognitive impairment. Conversely, any (β = -1.09; CI -1.54, -0.64), mild (β = -0.85; CI -1.34, -0.36), and severe cognitive impairment (β = -2.34; CI -3.25, -1.42) predicted decreased handgrip strength. Further, the presence of any, mild, and severe cognitive impairment was associated with 1.82 (CI 1.48, 2.24), 1.65 (CI 1.31, 2.08), and 2.53 (CI 1.74, 3.67) greater odds for future weakness, respectively.Conclusions/implicationsStrength capacity and cognitive function may parallel each other, whereby losses of functioning in 1 factor may forecast losses of functioning in the other. Handgrip strength could be used for assessing cognitive status in aging Americans and strength capacity should be monitored in those with cognitive impairment.

Project description:Importance:Prior neuroimaging studies have found that late-life participation in cognitive (eg, reading) and social (eg, visiting friends and family) leisure activities are associated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers of the aging brain, but little is known about the neural and cognitive correlates of changes in leisure activities during the life span. Objectives:To examine trajectories of cognitive and social activities from midlife to late life and evaluate whether these trajectories are associated with brain structure, functional connectivity, and cognition. Design, Setting, and Participants:This prospective cohort included participants enrolled in the Whitehall II study and its MRI substudy based in the UK. Participants provided information on their leisure activities at 5 times during calendar years 1997 to 1999, 2002 to 2004, 2006, 2007 to 2009, and 2011 to 2013 and underwent MRI and cognitive battery testing from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2016. Data analysis was performed from October 7, 2017, to July 15, 2019. Main Outcome and Measures:Growth curve models and latent class growth analysis were used to identify longitudinal trajectories of cognitive and social activities. Multiple linear regression was used to evaluate associations between activity trajectories and gray matter, white matter microstructure, functional connectivity, and cognition. Results:A total of 574 individuals (468 [81.5%] men; mean [SD] age, 69.9 [4.9] years; median Montreal Cognitive Assessment score, 28 [interquartile range, 26-28]) were included in the present analysis. During a mean (SD) of 15 (4.2) years, cognitive and social activity levels increased during midlife before reaching a plateau in late life. Both baseline (global cognition: unstandardized ? [SE], 0.955 [0.285], uncorrected P?=?.001; executive function: ? [SE], 1.831 [0.499], uncorrected P?<?.001; memory: ? [SE], 1.394 [0.550], uncorrected P?=?.01; processing speed: ? [SE], 1.514 [0.528], uncorrected P?=?.004) and change (global cognition: ? [SE], -1.382 [0.492], uncorrected P?=?.005, executive function: ? [SE], -2.219 [0.865], uncorrected P?=?.01; memory: ? [SE], -2.355 [0.948], uncorrected P?=?.01) in cognitive activities were associated with multiple domains of cognition as well as global gray matter volume (? [SE], -0.910 [0.388], uncorrected P?=?.02). Baseline (? [SE], 1.695 [0.525], uncorrected P?=?.001) and change (? [SE], 2.542 [1.026], uncorrected P?=?.01) in social activities were associated only with executive function, in addition to voxelwise measures of functional connectivity that involved sensorimotor (quadratic change in social activities: number of voxels, 306; P?=?0.01) and temporoparietal (linear change in social activities: number of voxels, 16; P?=?.02) networks. Otherwise, no voxelwise associations were found with gray matter, white matter, or resting-state functional connectivity. False discovery rate corrections for multiple comparisons suggested that the association between cognitive activity levels and executive function was robust (? [SE], 1.831 [0.499], false discovery rate P?<?.001). Conclusions and Relevance:The findings suggest that a life course approach may delineate the association between leisure activities and cognitive and brain health and that interventions aimed at improving and maintaining cognitive engagement may be valuable for the cognitive health of community-dwelling older adults.

Dataset Information

Dynamic Longitudinal Associations Between Social Support and Cognitive Function: A Prospective Investigation of the Directionality of Associations.

Objective

Method

Results

Discussion

Publications

Dynamic Longitudinal Associations Between Social Support and Cognitive Function: A Prospective Investigation of the Directionality of Associations.

Similar Datasets

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