Abstract
Owing to a growing older adult population, dementia is emerging as an important health issue. Given that maintaining cognitive functions is crucial for the prevention of dementia, this study aimed to identify the predictors of cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults, through a secondary data analysis of the 2017 National Survey of Older Koreans. A total of 9836 participants were classified into three age groups—young-old (65–74 years), old-old (75–84 years), and oldest-old (≥85 years)—and were separately analyzed using multiple linear regression models. The final model explained 28.0%, 35.0%, and 37.0% of variance in cognitive function in the three age groups, respectively. The most potent predictors of cognitive function in the young-old were electronic device-based activities, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and nutrition management; the predictors for the old-old group were electronic device-based activities, IADL, and dementia screening, and those for the oldest-old group were frequency of contact with acquaintances, traveling, and religion. Thus, age group-specific interventions are needed to effectively promote cognitive function among older adults. Digital literacy education, use of community-based elderly welfare programs, opportunities for social interactions, and physical activities can help older adults in maintaining a functional status and muscle strengthening.
Highlights
An analysis of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)statistics over the last 50 years from 1970 to 2018 revealed that South Korea has the fastest low fertility and aging rate among 37 OECD countries [1]
We classified older adults into young-old, old-old, and oldest-old and aimed to identify the factors of health status, health behaviors, functional status, social relations, and activities that predict cognitive function in each age group after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics using the 2017 National Survey of Older Koreans (NSOK) data conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA)
Cognitive function significantly differed among the age groups, where it declined with advancing age, which is supported by many previous studies [9,32]
Summary
An analysis of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)statistics over the last 50 years from 1970 to 2018 revealed that South Korea has the fastest low fertility and aging rate among 37 OECD countries [1]. South Korea officially became an “aged society” in 2018, 18 years after being designated as an “aging society” in 2000, and the older adult population (≥65 years) accounted for 15.7% of the total population in 2020 [2]. With a growing older adult population, active ongoing research is being conducted on various aspects of health, including geriatric degenerative diseases and chronic diseases. Of these health problems, dementia is one of the most rapidly growing health problems.
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