ArticleInternational journal of epidemiology2018
Structural social relations and cognitive ageing trajectories: evidence from the Whitehall II cohort study.
Article in International journal of epidemiology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The effect of social relationships on cognitive decline in older adults: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies.BMC public health · 2022Pooled it
- Associations between self-reported change in lifestyle behaviors and brain health: Findings from the Healthy Brain Initiative.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026Article
- Trajectories of social health, cognitive, and daily functioning in community-dwelling older adults.Innovation in aging · 2026Article
- Marital and living status and biological ageing trajectories: a longitudinal cohort study with a 20-year follow-up.Biogerontology · 2025Article
- Late-life social activity and subsequent risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Article
- The bidirectional relationships between social isolation and cognitive function among older adults in China: separating between-person effects from within-person effects.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Influencing factors, gender differences and the decomposition of inequalities in cognitive function in Chinese older adults: a population-based cohort study.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
- Intergenerational continuity of loneliness and potential mechanisms: Young Finns Multigenerational Study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Exploring the association between multidimensional social isolation and heterogeneous cognitive trajectories among older adults: evidence from China.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Heterogenous trajectories in physical, mental and cognitive health among older Americans: Roles of genetics and life course contextual factors.SSM - population health · 2023Article
- Familial factors, depression and cognitive decline: A longitudinal mediation analysis based on latent growth modeling (LGM).International journal of methods in psychiatric research · 2022Article
- Dual Trajectories of Social Isolation and Dementia in Older Adults: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study.Journal of aging and health · 2021Article
- Distinct Cognitive Trajectories in Late Life and Associated Predictors and Outcomes: A Systematic Review.Journal of Alzheimer's disease reports · 2020Review
- Associations between social and intellectual activities with cognitive trajectories in Chinese middle-aged and older adults: a nationally representative cohort study.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2020Article
- Association of social contact with dementia and cognition: 28-year follow-up of the Whitehall II cohort study.PLoS medicine · 2019Article
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7 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundSocial relations are important for health, particularly at older ages. We examined the salience of frequency of social contacts and marital status for cognitive ageing trajectories over 21 years, from midlife to early old age.
methodsData are from the Whitehall II cohort study, including 4290 men and 1776 women aged 35-55 years at baseline (1985-88). Frequency of social contacts and marital status were measured in 1985-88 and 1989-90. Assessment of cognitive function on five occasions (1991-94, 1997-99, 2003-04, 2007-09 and 2012-13) included the following tests: short-term memory, inductive reasoning, verbal fluency (phonemic and semantic) and a combined global score. Cognitive trajectories over the study period were analysed using longitudinal latent growth class analyses, and the associations of these latent classes (trajectory memberships) with social relations were analysed using multinominal logistic regression.
resultsMore frequent social contacts [relative risk (RRR) 0.96, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.94 - 0.98] and being married (RRR 0.70, 95% CI 0.58 - 0.84) were associated with lower probability of being on a low rather than high cognitive performance trajectory over the subsequent 21 years. These associations persisted after adjustment for covariates. Of the sub-tests, social relations variables had the strongest association with phonemic fluency (RRR 0.95, 95% CI 0.94 - 0.97 for frequent contact; RRR 0.59, 95% CI 0.48 - 0.71 for being married).
conclusionsMore frequent social contacts and having a spouse were associated with more favourable cognitive ageing trajectories. Further studies are needed to examine whether interventions designed to improve social connections affect cognitive ageing.
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