Cognition In Community-dwelling Adults Research Articles

Does Neurocognition Predict Subjective Well-Being?

Greater subjective well-being (SWB) is associated with a myriad of positive outcomes across adulthood. While several studies have demonstrated a relationship between cognition and SWB, the current study extends previous work by examining the relationship between neurocognition and SWB across age and time. Data were drawn from 3,856 individuals between the ages of 18-99 years who participated in the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project, a prospective study of cognition in community dwelling adults. Participants completed a battery of neurocognitive tasks (assessing spatial visualization, episodic memory, reasoning, processing speed, and vocabulary) and measures assessing SWB (life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect). Results indicated that spatial visualization, episodic memory, and processing speed predicted life satisfaction only in specific age groups, but the magnitude of the coefficients were not significantly different between the groups, providing limited evidence of age moderation. Vocabulary was negatively associated with positive affect for all age groups. The temporal relationships between neurocognition and SWB were generally non-significant, and age did not moderate this relationship. Within the broader context of neurocognition, this study provides evidence that the relationship between neurocognition and SWB cross-sectionally may be partially age dependent for one facet of SWB, and the temporal relationship may be minimal.

Associations of Lifestyle Factors With Cognition in Community-Dwelling Adults Aged 50 and Older: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.

In the absence of an effective treatment to alter the progressive course of cognitive decline and dementia, identification of modifiable risk factors that could promote healthy cognitive aging has become a public health research priority. This study seeks to comprehensively determine the contemporaneous associations of a broad spectrum of time-varying modifiable lifestyle factors with age-related cognitive decline in a large population-based cohort of older adults. A total of 5,711 subjects aged 50 and older from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) in Shanghai were studied. Repeated measures of lifestyle factors and cognitive performance were conducted in 2009–2010 and 2014–2015. Linear random slope models were used to evaluate the contemporaneous associations between time-varying lifestyle factors and cognitive performance. Person-mean centering method was used to disaggregate the between- and within-person effects in the time-varying lifestyle factors in the random slope models. We found that higher vegetable and fruit consumption, as well as higher level of physical activity were positively associated with all cognitive domains. Body mass index (BMI) was negatively associated with all cognitive domains, whereas waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) was negatively associated with verbal fluency score only. Sedentary time was negatively associated with digit span score but positively associated with verbal fluency score. The between-person effects seem to be more dominant than within-person effects. Overall, our findings suggest better management of multiple lifestyle factors may protect against cognitive decline in later life. Higher vegetable and fruit consumption and physical activity are protective, whereas obesity is detrimental to cognitive decline in older adults. This study underpins the development of multi-domain lifestyle recommendations to promote healthy cognitive aging.

Sleep and Cognition in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Review of Literature.

Changes in sleep and cognition occur with advancing age. While both may occur independently of each other, it is possible that alterations in sleep parameters may increase the risk of age-related cognitive changes. This review aimed to understand the relationship between sleep parameters (sleep latency, wake after sleep onset, sleep efficiency, sleep duration, general sleep complaints) and cognition in community-dwelling adults aged 60 years and older without sleep disorders. Systematic, computer-aided searches were conducted using multiple sleep and cognition-related search terms in PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL. Twenty-nine manuscripts met the inclusion criteria. Results suggest an inconsistent relationship between sleep parameters and cognition in older adults and modifiers such as depressive symptoms, undiagnosed sleep apnea and other medical conditions may influence their association. Measures of sleep and cognition were heterogeneous. Future studies should aim to further clarify the association between sleep parameters and cognitive domains by simultaneously using both objective and subjective measures of sleep parameters. Identifying which sleep parameters to target may lead to the development of novel targets for interventions and reduce the risk of cognitive changes with aging.