Abstract
(1) Background: In an ageing society, social relationships may benefit cognitive performance with an impact on the health of older people. This study aims to estimate the effect of different social support sources on the risk of cognitive impairment in a sample of older Portuguese people. (2) Methods: From the Portuguese EpiPorto cohort study, we followed a sample of participants with 60 to 85 years (N = 656) between 2009 and 2015 (4.63 mean years of follow-up). The participants’ perception of social support from family, friends and significant others was evaluated. Cox’s regression models were used to investigate the association between this and sociodemographic variables. (3) Results: It was found that social support from friends reduces the risk of cognitive impairment. Men, participants aged 60 to 64 and those not married have a lower risk of cognitive impairment after adjusting for other variables. Participants between 80 and 85 years old (p = 0.021), those with less than four years of education (p < 0.001), and those with cognitive impairment (p = 0.007) have perception of less social support from friends. (4) Conclusions: A social support network from friends reduces the risk of cognitive impairment for older people.
Highlights
Published: 22 August 2021The increases in life expectancy we observe nowadays did not come with a proportionate increase in quality of life, as the risk of disease, disability and dementia increases with increasing age [1]
The hazard ratio of men who possessed cognitive impairment was 63% which was lower when compared to women (HR = 0.370, 95% CI = 0.184–0.744)
The hazard ratio for the divorced or separated and the widowed or the single for having cognitive impairments was 60.2% lower when compared to married participants (HR = 0.398, 95% CI = 0.186–0.852)
Summary
The increases in life expectancy we observe nowadays did not come with a proportionate increase in quality of life, as the risk of disease, disability and dementia increases with increasing age [1]. Cognitive impairment is characterised by more difficulty than expected for an individual’s age and education with memory or concentration while performing a task of everyday living or when learning new things [5]. It ranges in severity between deficits which are not clinically detected to clinically diagnosed dementia [6]. It is likely to appear prior to other disease diagnoses conducted, such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia [7,8]
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