Abstract

BackgroundThe contribution of psychological factors to brain health and resilience remains poorly investigated. Furthermore, their possible interaction with ‘classical’ cognitive reserve (CR) estimates in predicting perceived mental health and cognitive status has not been specifically addressed.MethodsWe obtained data from 1081 adults responding to questionnaires on the three meaning in life (MiL) dimensions: purpose in life (PiL), sense of coherence (SoC), and engagement with life (EwL). A questionnaire on CR variables was also administered. The outcome measures were self-reported cognitive function and affective status (depression, stress, and anxiety). Multiple linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between sociodemographic variables, MiL dimensions, and CR with the two selected outcomes. Mediation analyses, adjusted for age and gender, were applied to determine whether the MiL dimensions mediated the putative effects of CR on self-reported mental and cognitive health.ResultsAll three MiL components, but not CR estimates, correlated with the self-reported affective status of the participants. Higher CR, PiL, and SoC (but not EwL) scores significantly correlated with higher perceived cognitive function. Notably, the observed association between the CR measures and self-reported cognitive function was mediated by PiL and SoC.ConclusionsPsychological MiL dimensions mediate the association between classic CR estimates and self-perceived cognitive function. Further studies on CR could consider including formal measures of such psychological factors to better understand their unique or synergistic contributions, as well as investigate the associated mechanisms maintaining brain function at older ages.

Highlights

  • The contribution of psychological factors to brain health and resilience remains poorly investigated

  • Relationship between the meaning in life (MiL) measures Confirmatory factor analysis indicated the presence of three different factors corresponding to sense of coherence (SoC), purpose in life (PiL), and engagement with life (EwL)

  • Factor 3 loaded all of the items from the PiL scale, plus two items from the EwL scale and two items from the SoC scale

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Summary

Introduction

The contribution of psychological factors to brain health and resilience remains poorly investigated. Their possible interaction with ‘classical’ cognitive reserve (CR) estimates in predicting perceived mental health and cognitive status has not been addressed. The concept of ‘cognitive debt’ was recently proposed, which is related to that of ‘cognitive reserve’, and considers psychological factors and is associated with maladaptive responses to stress. According to this concept, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and repetitive negative thinking represent proxies of ‘cognitive debt’ that deplete resilience to brain diseases with advancing age [48]. Our objective was to investigate the association of these three components with ‘classical’ measures of CR, self-perceived cognitive function, and affective status (depression, anxiety, and stress) in a sample of healthy adults

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