Abstract
The main objective of this study was to investigate reading habits in older adults in relation to level and 15-year changes in verbal fluency and episodic recall. We examined a sample of 1157 participants (≥55 years at baseline) up to 15 years after the baseline assessment using latent growth curve modeling of cognitive measures with baseline reading frequency (books, weekly magazines) as a predictor of cognitive level (intercept) and rate of change (slope). Subgroup analyses were performed to investigate the role of an early adult g factor in the association between reading habits and cognitive ability in midlife. Frequent reading of books, but not of magazines, was associated with higher levels of verbal fluency and recall but unrelated to rate of longitudinal decline. Subgroup analyses indicated that the g factor in early adulthood predicted reading and cognitive level in midlife and this factor removed the current association between reading habits and level of cognitive ability (both cognitive factors). The results indicate an enduring relationship between book reading and level of cognitive ability across the adult life span and provide little support of the hypothesis that frequent reading protects against late-life cognitive decline. The extent to which book reading promotes cognitive functioning in childhood/youth remains to be demonstrated. Intervention studies may be useful in this regard.
Highlights
With increased life expectancies, identifying factors that could reduce cognitive decline in old age is of considerable importance
We observed a cognitive advantage on the part of those who read more frequently, whereas the rate of age-related decline in episodic recall or verbal fluency was unrelated to readings, demonstrating a pattern of preserved differentiation of frequent/infrequent book readers in regard to verbal fluency and episodic memory recall
Results from this study provided little support for the hypothesis reading affects the rate of age-related decline in episodic recall and verbal fluency
Summary
With increased life expectancies, identifying factors that could reduce cognitive decline in old age is of considerable importance. A number of different factors have been suggested to have such an influence, including engagement in mentally stimulating leisure activities (for reviews, see, e.g., Fuchs et al, 2001; Stern and Munn, 2010; Fallahpour et al, 2016). Beneficial effects of mental stimulation suggested by some of the studies, are in accordance with a cognitive reserve hypothesis, which posits that activity-related stimulation might reduce the risk of cognitive decline and postpone the onset of behavioral changes even in the presence of dementia pathology (Scarmeas and Stern, 2003). It should be noted that effects of mental stimulation on the reserve is believed to be modifiable, at least to some extent, over the entire life course (Schooler and Mulatu, 2001)
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