Abstract
Objectives
Previous investigations of cognitive aging have mainly focused on structural aspects of social relations (e.g. network size and composition), thereby neglecting the role of qualitative aspects of social relations. The current longitudinal study examined sex-specific differences in verbal memory decline by measures of perceived relationship quality (social support/strain) by relationship type.
Method
In the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), 10,109 participants aged 50–89 years were assessed at wave 1 (baseline: 2002–03) and followed to wave 9 (2017–18). Verbal memory was assessed by immediate and delayed word-recall tasks. Social support/strain was measured by relationship type (spouse; children; family; friends). Random effects within-between (REWB) modelling was used to separate between- and within-person effects. We estimated associations between social support/strain and (1) baseline levels of memory (main effects), and (2) rate of decline in memory (interaction with time-since-baseline).
Results
Longitudinal associations were most prominent for men, specific to relationship type, and showed between- rather than within-person effects. Among men, higher spousal strain was associated with faster memory decline (βbetween-effect×time = −0.043; 95% CI [−0.084, −0.002]; p = .039), whilst greater support from children was associated with slower decline (βbetween-effect×time = 0.020; 95% CI [0.002, 0.039]; p = .033). Men with higher strain from friends showed lower baseline memory (βbetween-effect = −0.382; 95% CI [−0.627, −0.137]; p=.002) and faster decline (βbetween-effect×time = −0.047; 95% CI [−0.095, 0.000]; p = .051).
Conclusion
Between-person differences in social support/strain were modestly associated with memory decline, especially among men.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the interviewers and nurses, the ELSA participants, and colleagues at NatCen Social Research. We thank the original data creators, depositors, copyright holders, the funders of the Data Collections and the UK Data Service for the use of ELSA data. The original data creators, depositors or copyright holders bear no responsibility for the current analysis or interpretation.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).