Association of the motoric cognitive risk syndrome with levels of perceived social support

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe Motoric Cognitive Risk (MCR) Syndrome is a pre‐dementia syndrome characterized by slow gait and cognitive complaints that predicts dementia. It remains unclear whether decreased levels of social support predict MCR. Our goal is to assess the risk of developing MCR as a function of varying levels of self‐reported social support in the categories of: (a) emotional/information support (b) tangible support (c) affectionate support and (d) positive social interactions.MethodsOur prospective cohort study sampled male and female older adults between 65 and 96 years old, with a mean age of 77, and with no MCR or dementia at baseline. We calculated MCR incidence based on participants’ levels of perceived social support with adjustments for age, sex, race/ethnicity, years of education, global health score, geriatric depression scale score, and marital status. Cox regression analyses were used to estimate hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals across a one to seven‐year time span and a median follow‐up time of 2.5 years.ResultsThirty‐eight participants (9.8%) developed MCR. Increased tangible support decreased the risk of MCR by 30.9% [aHR:0.691, 95% CI (.523‐.915), p=0.010]. A higher overall social support score also decreased the risk of MCR by 33.8% [aHR: 0.662, 95% CI (.456‐.962), p=0.031]. The other categories of social support as well as the Social Network Index (SNI) scores were not significantly associated with a decreased risk of MCR (p>.05).ConclusionsIncreased social support, especially tangible support, may prove protective against MCR, dementia and other forms of cognitive decline.