Social participation predicts cognitive functioning in aging adults over time: comparisons with physical health, depression, and physical activity

Abstract

Objectives: Several risk and protective factors are associated with changes in cognitive functioning in aging adults – including physical health, depression, physical activity, and social activities – though the findings for participation in social activities are mixed. This study investigated the longitudinal association between social participation and two domains of cognitive functioning, memory and executive function. A primary goal of our analyses was to determine whether social participation predicted cognitive functioning over-and-above physical health, depression, and physical activity in a sample with adequate power to detect unique effects.

Method: The sample included aging adults (N = 19,832) who participated in a large, multi-national study and provided data across six years; split into two random subsamples. Unique associations between the predictors of interest and cognitive functioning over time and within occasion were assessed in a latent curve growth model.

Results: Social participation predicted both domains of cognitive functioning at each occasion, and the relative magnitude of this effect was comparable to physical health, depression, and physical activity level. In addition, social participation at the first time point predicted change in cognitive functioning over time. The substantive results in the initial sample were replicated in the second independent subsample.

Conclusion: Overall, the magnitude of the association of social participation is comparable to other well-established predictors of cognitive functioning, providing evidence that social participation plays an important role in cognitive functioning and successful aging.

Keywords:

• cognition
• social participation
• depression
• physical health
• physical activity

Acknowledgements

This paper uses data from SHARE wave 4 release 1.1.1, as of March 28, 2013, and SHARE wave 1 and 2 release 2.6.0 as of November 29, 2013.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The SHARE data collection has been primarily funded by the European Commission through the 5th Framework Programme (project QLK6-CT-2001-00360 in the thematic programme Quality of Life) through the 6th Framework Programme (projects SHARE-I3, RII-CT-2006-062193, COMPARE, CIT5-CT-2005-028857, and SHARELIFE CIT4-CT-2006-028812) and through the 7th Framework Programme (SHARE-PREP, N° 211909, SHARE-LEAP, N° 227822 and SHARE M4, N° 261982). Additional funding from the U.S. National Institute on Aging (U01 AG09740-13S2, P01 AG005842, P01 AG08291, P30 AG12815, R21 AG025169, Y1-AG-4553-01, IAG BSR06-11 and OGHA 04-064) and the German Ministry of Education and Research as well as from various national resources is gratefully acknowledged (see www.share-project.org for a full list).