Social networks and cognitive function in older adults: findings from the HAPIEE study

Social networks are associated with better cognitive health in older people, but the role of specific aspects of the social network remains unclear. This is especially the case in Central and Eastern Europe. This study examined associations between three aspects of the social network (network size o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC geriatrics 2021-10, Vol.21 (1), p.570-14, Article 570
Main Authors: Nie, Yifan, Richards, Marcus, Kubinova, Ruzena, Titarenko, Anastasiya, Malyutina, Sofia, Kozela, Magdalena, Pajak, Andrzej, Bobak, Martin, Ruiz, Milagros
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Ageing
Aging
Alzheimer's disease
Analysis
Animal cognition
Cognition
Cognition in old age
Cognitive ability
Cognitive decline
Cognitive function
Cross-Sectional Studies
Czech Republic
Dementia
Demographic aspects
Female
Friends
Geriatrics
Health aspects
Humans
Information processing
Male
Memory
Older people
Poland
Psychological aspects
Russia
Social interactions
Social isolation
Social Networking
Social networks
Social organization
Social support
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Summary:Social networks are associated with better cognitive health in older people, but the role of specific aspects of the social network remains unclear. This is especially the case in Central and Eastern Europe. This study examined associations between three aspects of the social network (network size of friends and relatives, contact frequency with friends and relatives, and social activity participation) with cognitive functions (verbal memory, learning ability, verbal fluency, processing speed, and global cognitive function) in older Czech, Polish, and Russian adults. Linear regression estimated associations between baseline social networks and cognitive domains measured at both baseline and follow-up (mean duration of follow-up, 3.5 ± 0.7 years) in 6691 participants (mean age, 62.2 ± 6.0 years; 53.7% women) from the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial factors In Eastern Europe (HAPIEE) study. Cross-sectional analyses, adjusted for country, age, and sex, showed positive associations of global cognitive function with social activity participation and network size of friends and relatives, but not with contact frequency in either network. Further adjustment for sociodemographic, behavioural, and health characteristics attenuated the associations with network size of relatives (P-trend = 0.074) but not with network size of friends (P-trend = 0.036) or social activities (P-trend
ISSN:1471-2318
1471-2318
DOI:10.1186/s12877-021-02531-0