Liao, J; Scholes, S; (2017) Association of Social Support and Cognitive Aging Modified by Sex and Relationship Type: A Prospective Investigation in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. American Journal of Epidemiology , 186 (7) pp. 787-795. 10.1093/aje/kwx142.

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Abstract

We examined whether between-person differences (PM) and within-person change in levels of social support were associated with age-related cognitive decline, and whether these associations varied by sex and by relationship type. Executive function and memory scores over eight years (2002-2010) were analysed by mixture models (10,241 adults’ aged≥50 years) in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. PM and within-person change in positive social support and negative social support were independently associated with cognitive decline in different ways by sex and relationship type. Among men, higher-than-others positive social support from spouse/partner was associated with slower cognitive decline (executive function: βPM*time-in-study = 0.005, 95%CI: 0.001, 0.010; memory: βPM*time-in-study = 0.006, 95%CI 0.000, 0.012); whereas high negative social support from all relationship types was associated with accelerated decline in executive function (all-relationships-combined: βPM* time-in-study = -0.005, 95%CI: -0.008, -0.002). For women, higher-than-others positive social support from children (β=0.037, 95%CI: 0.010, 0.064) and friends (β=0.115, 95%CI: 0.081, 0.150) but not from spouse/partner (β=-0.034, 95%CI: -0.059, -0.009) or extended family (β=-0.035, 95%CI: -0.064, -0.006) was associated with higher executive function. Associations between social support and age-related cognitive decline vary across different relationship types for men and women.

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