Memory impairment and its associated risk and protective factors among older adults in Indonesia

Abstract

Aims

This study aimed to evaluate the association between memory impairment and its risk and protective factors, focusing on demographic and health-related variables among older adults in Indonesia.

Method

The data analyzed were the Indonesian Family Life Survey-5 (IFLS-5) using cross-sectional variables of 4236 older adults aged 60 years and over included in the 2015 round. Memory impairment was assessed by immediate word list recall from the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS). Sociodemographic factors and multiple health variables were included as predictors. Data were analyzed using frequency analyses bivariate and stepwise logistic regression tests.

Result

Among 4236 older adults, 49.7% were male and 50.3% were female. Stepwise backward analyses showed that memory impairment was independently associated with older age, being female, or not in a union (unmarried, separated, divorced, or widowed), having obtained low levels of education, living in a rural area, reporting low life satisfaction, low social capital, higher dependency, and having clinical depression. Only moderate (but not high or low) physical activity levels were associated with a lower risk. Being underweight increased the risk, but being overweight/obese (as assessed by BMI) protective factors for a lower immediate recall score.

Conclusion

Increasing education and continued engagement of older adults in psychosocial activities, including moderate physical activity, improving mental health, preventing weight loss, and maintaining functional ability to decrease dependency, are associated with increased episodic memory, especially in non-married and older women in rural areas of Indonesia.

Keywords:

• Memory impairment
• immediate episodic recall
• risk factors
• older adults

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge RAND for giving us access to the IFLS-5 data (https://www.rand.org/well-being/social-and-behavioral-policy/data/FLS/IFLS.html) and the financial support of this research by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK, via its research project funding for Care Networks in Indonesia (Project ES/S013407/1).

Data availability statement

Data employed in this study are publicly available by registering requests at RAND (https://www.rand.org/well-being/social-and-behavioral-policy/data/FLS/IFLS.html).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).