Dataset Information

Effects of Digital Device Ownership on Cognitive Decline in a Middle-Aged and Elderly Population: Longitudinal Observational Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cognitive decline is a major risk factor for disability and death and may serve as a precursor of dementia. Digital devices can provide a platform of cognitively stimulating activities which might help to slow cognitive decline during the process of normal aging.

Objective

This longitudinal study aimed to examine the independent protective factors of desktop and cellphone ownership against cognitive decline in mid-life and older adulthood and to examine the combined effect of desktop and cellphone ownership on the same outcome.

Methods

Data was obtained from a China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Studies (CHARLS) cohort made up of 13,457 community-dwelling adults aged 45 years or above in 2011-2012. They were followed for 4 years, with baseline measurements taken as well as 2 two-year follow-up visits. Cognitive function was tested during the baseline test and follow-up visits. A global cognition z-score was calculated based on two domains: word recall and mental intactness. The key independent variables were defined as: whether one had desktops with internet connection at home and whether one had a cellphone. An additional categorical variable of three values was constructed as: 0 (no desktop or cellphone), 1 (desktop or cellphone alone), and 2 (desktop and cellphone both). Mixed-effects regression was adjusted for demographic and health behavior as well as health condition risk factors.

Results

Adjusted for demographic and health behavior as well as health condition risk factors, desktop and cellphone ownership were independently associated with subsequent decreased cognitive decline over the four-year period. Participants without a desktop at home had an adjusted cognitive decline of -0.16 standard deviations (95% CI -0.18 to -0.15), while participants with a desktop at home had an adjusted cognitive decline of -0.10 standard deviations (95% CI -0.14 to -0.07; difference of -0.06 standard deviations; P=.003). A similar pattern of significantly protective association of 0.06 standard deviations (95% CI 0.03-0.10; P<.001) between cellphone ownership and cognitive function was observed over the four-year period. Additionally, a larger longitudinal protective association on cognitive decline was observed among those with both of the digital devices, although the 95% CIs for the coefficients overlapped with those with a single digital device alone.

Conclusions

Findings from this study underscored the importance of digital devices as platforms for cognitively stimulating activities to delay cognitive decline. Future studies focusing on use of digital devices are warranted to investigate their longitudinal protective factors against cognitive decline at mid- and later life.

SUBMITTER: Jin Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6690159 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Effects of Digital Device Ownership on Cognitive Decline in a Middle-Aged and Elderly Population: Longitudinal Observational Study.

Jin Yinzi Y Jing Mingxia M Ma Xiaochen X

Journal of medical Internet research 20190729 7

<h4>Background</h4>Cognitive decline is a major risk factor for disability and death and may serve as a precursor of dementia. Digital devices can provide a platform of cognitively stimulating activities which might help to slow cognitive decline during the process of normal aging.<h4>Objective</h4>This longitudinal study aimed to examine the independent protective factors of desktop and cellphone ownership against cognitive decline in mid-life and older adulthood and to examine the combined eff ...[more]

PMID: 31359864

Similar Datasets

Project description:ImportancePresently, the clinical standard for reporting the results of an amyloid positron emission tomography scan is to assign a dichotomous rating of positive or negative for the presence of amyloid. In a 4-year longitudinal study, we investigated whether using a continuous measure of the magnitude of baseline amyloid burden would provide valuable information about the rate of future cognitive decline over the subsequent 4 years compared with a dichotomous measure in middle-aged and older adults.ObjectiveTo examine whether a continuous, dose-response relationship between amyloid burden and cognitive decline was present among middle-aged and older adults.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study included 174 participants from the Dallas Lifespan Brain Study who were 40 to 89 years old at the beginning of the study, were cognitively normal at baseline (a Mini-Mental State Examination score of 26 or higher) with no history of neurological or psychiatric disorders, and had completed amyloid imaging ([18F]-florbetapir) at baseline and cognitive assessments at baseline and a 4-year follow-up. Continuous amyloid burden was measured as the mean cortical standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) at baseline.Main outcomes and measuresLinear mixed models assessed the effect of increasing baseline amyloid over time (SUVR × time interaction) on episodic memory, reasoning, processing speed, vocabulary, and Mini-Mental State Examination performance. Age, sex, education, apolipoprotein ε4, and the random effect of intercepts were included as covariates.ResultsThe mean (SD) age for all participants (n = 174) was 66.44 (11.74) years, and 65 participants (37%) were men. The primary analyses yielded significant SUVR × time interactions in episodic memory, processing speed, vocabulary, and Mini-Mental State Examination performance, but not in reasoning performance. Higher baseline SUVR projected greater cognitive decline over 4 years. When controlling for variance related to a dichotomized positive/negative classification, most effects on cognition remained. Dichotomized amyloid status alone yielded fewer significant effects of amyloid on cognitive decline than continuous SUVR. Among amyloid-positive participants, increasing baseline SUVR predicted an increasing decline in episodic memory, but other effects on cognition were more limited. Finally, higher baseline amyloid burden among middle-aged adults was related to changes in vocabulary, with the effect driven by 3 apolipoprotein ε4 homozygotes.Conclusions and relevanceThese results suggest that the magnitude of amyloid burden at baseline is associated with the rate of cognitive decline over 4 years and potentially provides important information about the rate of future cognitive decline that is not available from a dichotomous positive/negative categorization.

Dataset Information

Effects of Digital Device Ownership on Cognitive Decline in a Middle-Aged and Elderly Population: Longitudinal Observational Study.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Effects of Digital Device Ownership on Cognitive Decline in a Middle-Aged and Elderly Population: Longitudinal Observational Study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure