ArticleScientific reports2020
Internet use in old age predicts smaller cognitive decline only in men.
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Individual sedentary activities and cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults: A systematic review.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of technology use and cognitive aging.Nature human behaviour · 2025Pooled it
- Does Computer Use Improve Older Adults' Cognitive Functioning? Evidence From the Personal Reminder Information and Social Management Trial.The Gerontologist · 2022Trial
- Using smartphone technology to improve prospective memory functioning: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2022Trial
- Broadband Access, Internet Use, and General Cognition in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Longitudinal Study.JMIR aging · 2026Article
- Digital Engagement and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults in China: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study and Moderated Mediation Model Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Analysis of disparate factors affecting cognitive function among populations with different educational levels: a large-scale longitudinal study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The Effect of Overcoming the Digital Divide on Middle Frontal Gyrus Atrophy in Aging Adults: Large-Scale Retrospective Magnetic Resonance Imaging Cohort Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Association between the use of information and communication technology and cognitive decline stratified by social isolation: The Otassha study.The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease · 2025Observational
- Internet and Gambling: Insights from Australia's NBN Rollout.Journal of gambling studies · 2025Article
- Mediating Role of Internet Use in Cognitive-Depressive Pathways: A Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Modeling Approach.International journal of public health · 2025Article
- Cognitive functioning and sustained internet use amid the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal evidence from older adults in Switzerland.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Internet Use as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Personal Resources and Stress in Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR aging · 2024Article
- The relationship between social frailty and cognitive impairment among older adults: the role of various types of internet use.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Article
- How Welfare Regimes Moderate the Associations Between Cognitive Aging, Education, and Occupation.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2022Article
- Cognitive decline and poor social relationship in older adults during COVID-19 pandemic: can information and communications technology (ICT) use helps?BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
- Internet Use and Cognitive Functioning in Later Life: Focus on Asymmetric Effects and Contextual Factors.The Gerontologist · 2022Article
- Health and self-perceived barriers to internet use among older migrants: a population-based study.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Rural/urban dwelling across the life-course and late-life cognitive ability in Mexico.SSM - population health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Internet use provides cognitive stimulation and thereby may contribute to the accumulation of cognitive reserve that is proposed to be instrumental for maintaining cognitive health in ageing. As the first study so far, we examined possible gender differences in the relationship between Internet use and subsequent cognitive decline over six years assessed through changes in Trail Making Test (TMT) accomplishment time in 897 older adults. Latent change score modelling (taking into account baseline cognitive level, chronic diseases, age, and central contributions to cognitive reserve through education, profession, and leisure engagement) revealed a significant interaction of frequency of Internet use and gender. More frequent Internet use in the first wave of data collection significantly predicted a smaller subsequent augmentation in TMT accomplishment time (i.e., a smaller subsequent cognitive decline) only in men, but not in women. In conclusion, frequent Internet use may contribute to the accumulation of cognitive reserve. The gender difference noted highlights an advantage for males. While this finding could be interpreted as gender-specific, it may be that the Internet activities males engage in differ from those of females, calling for a fine-grained investigation of Internet-based activities in future studies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.