Selina Vogel, Andrés Oliva Y Hausmann, Susanne Zank
{"title":"Exploring the associations between structural and functional aspects of social relationships and cognition in very old age.","authors":"Selina Vogel, Andrés Oliva Y Hausmann, Susanne Zank","doi":"10.1080/13607863.2024.2348616","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Few studies have examined the associations between social relationships and cognition in very old adults (80+ years). Moreover, limited research has considered structural and functional aspects of social relationships together when exploring their associations with cognition. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the associations between structural and functional social aspects and cognition in very old age.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>The sample comprised 518 two-wave participants of the NRW80+ Study, who showed no indication of dementia and an average age of 85 years at baseline (<i>range</i>: 80-97 years). They were assessed twice over an approximate 2-year interval. Multilevel linear growth curve analysis was employed to model cognitive development over very old age and to examine the associations between structural and functional aspects of social relationships and cognitive development. It was controlled for demographic and health characteristics.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A larger social network size (<i>ß</i> = 0.05, 95% CI [0.02, 0.08], <i>p</i> = 0.002) and frequent compared with occasional, seldom, and no contact with others (<i>ß</i> = 0.16, 95% CI [0.03, 0.28], <i>p</i> = 0.013) were associated with higher global cognition in the fully-controlled model. Model comparisons further revealed that structural aspects better predicted global cognition in very old age compared to functional aspects (χ<sup>2</sup>(2) = 16.17, <i>p</i> < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The findings underline the positive association between structural aspects of social relationships and global cognition in very old age. They also highlight the need for interventions promoting a socially active lifestyle to prevent cognitive decline in this vulnerable age group.</p>","PeriodicalId":55546,"journal":{"name":"Aging & Mental Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Aging & Mental Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2024.2348616","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/5/7 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives: Few studies have examined the associations between social relationships and cognition in very old adults (80+ years). Moreover, limited research has considered structural and functional aspects of social relationships together when exploring their associations with cognition. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the associations between structural and functional social aspects and cognition in very old age.
Method: The sample comprised 518 two-wave participants of the NRW80+ Study, who showed no indication of dementia and an average age of 85 years at baseline (range: 80-97 years). They were assessed twice over an approximate 2-year interval. Multilevel linear growth curve analysis was employed to model cognitive development over very old age and to examine the associations between structural and functional aspects of social relationships and cognitive development. It was controlled for demographic and health characteristics.
Results: A larger social network size (ß = 0.05, 95% CI [0.02, 0.08], p = 0.002) and frequent compared with occasional, seldom, and no contact with others (ß = 0.16, 95% CI [0.03, 0.28], p = 0.013) were associated with higher global cognition in the fully-controlled model. Model comparisons further revealed that structural aspects better predicted global cognition in very old age compared to functional aspects (χ2(2) = 16.17, p < 0.001).
Conclusion: The findings underline the positive association between structural aspects of social relationships and global cognition in very old age. They also highlight the need for interventions promoting a socially active lifestyle to prevent cognitive decline in this vulnerable age group.
期刊介绍:
Aging & Mental Health provides a leading international forum for the rapidly expanding field which investigates the relationship between the aging process and mental health. The journal addresses the mental changes associated with normal and abnormal or pathological aging, as well as the psychological and psychiatric problems of the aging population. The journal also has a strong commitment to interdisciplinary and innovative approaches that explore new topics and methods.
Aging & Mental Health covers the biological, psychological and social aspects of aging as they relate to mental health. In particular it encourages an integrated approach for examining various biopsychosocial processes and etiological factors associated with psychological changes in the elderly. It also emphasizes the various strategies, therapies and services which may be directed at improving the mental health of the elderly and their families. In this way the journal promotes a strong alliance among the theoretical, experimental and applied sciences across a range of issues affecting mental health and aging. The emphasis of the journal is on rigorous quantitative, and qualitative, research and, high quality innovative studies on emerging topics.