Abstract
Stress can be a risk factor for mental and physical health. We investigated the role of social burden as a potential stressor in older age and its associations with cognitive aging (i.e., within the domains inhibition and cognitive flexibility of executive functioning). Eighty-three older adults (N = 38 male, mean age = 74.0 ± 5.7 years, body-mass index = 25.5 ± 4.1 kg/m2) aged 64 years or older participated. Cognitive flexibility and inhibition were assessed by means of a Trail-Making Test (TMT) and a Stroop task. Perceived levels of social burden and perceived stress in general were assessed via standardized questionnaires. Furthermore, diurnal cortisol profiles were assessed. Overall, older participants showed lower cognitive performance than the younger (both inhibition and cognitive flexibility; p < .044). However, this association did not remain significant when adjusting for multiple comparisons. Social burden was highly correlated with perceived stress, highlighting its importance as a stressor (p < .001). Furthermore, participants who reported higher levels of perceived stress showed lower performance in the TMT as a measure for cognitive flexibility (p < .001). Moreover, social burden was associated with cognitive flexibility, which was assessed by means of the TMT (p = .031). However, this association did not remain significant when using the adjusted α-level. Furthermore, we found that total diurnal cortisol output was a mediator for the relationship between age and inhibition, which was assessed by means of a Stroop task. At last, we found that the mediating role of cortisol interacts with social burden in the way that especially in younger age, high levels of social burden are associated with higher cortisol levels and, therefore, with lower cognitive performance. We conclude that it is important to consider social burden as an additional stressor in older age which is associated with cognitive aging.
Highlights
Impairments in cognitive functioning are one of the most stressful and challenging burdens in older age (Petermann and Roth 2006)
We investigated the role of social burden as a potential additional stressor in older age and its associations with cognitive aging
Our main findings were that social burden was highly correlated with perceived stress and that the total diurnal cortisol output was a mediator for the relationship between age and inhibition
Summary
Impairments in cognitive functioning (e.g., in executive functioning, EF) are one of the most stressful and challenging burdens in older age (Petermann and Roth 2006). Executive functions include multiple skills such as cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory (Miyake and Friedman 2012). Even in older people, who do not develop dementia or mild cognitive impairment, subclinical cognitive changes can be found in many cases (Harada et al 2013). There is a distinct age-related decline in EF, in very old age (Wahl and Schilling 2012). This decline is often accompanied by age-related structural changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC; Brand and Markowitsch 2004; DeCarli et al 2005; Pfefferbaum et al 2013), the main brain structure which is involved in
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
