ArticleBMC geriatrics2024
Digital exclusion and cognitive impairment in older people: findings from five longitudinal studies.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 28 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Associations Between Digital Exclusion and Physical or Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JMIR aging · 2026Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of technology use and cognitive aging.Nature human behaviour · 2025Pooled it
- Positive association between Internet use and mental health among adults aged ≥50 years in 23 countries.Nature human behaviour · 2025Pooled it
- Digital divide and health status among rural older adults in China: evidence from CHARLS.Global health action · 2026Article
- Digital exclusion, functional limitations transitions, and life expectancy: a multinational longitudinal study.SSM - population health · 2026Article
- Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions to Reduce Sedentary Behavior and Promote Physical Activity in Patients With Chronic Disease: Scoping Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- Paid work participation and cognitive function trajectories among older adults in China: evidence from a longitudinal study.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Trajectories of cognitive decline before and after new-onset dual sensory impairment: findings from two longitudinal studies.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Sleep duration and cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults: a multinational study in China, England, and India.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Digital exclusion in healthcare services: a scoping review.International journal for equity in health · 2026Review
- Analysis of disparate factors affecting cognitive function among populations with different educational levels: a large-scale longitudinal study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Risk Factors of Caregiver Burden in Patients With Cognitive Dysfunction: A Scoping Review.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Article
- Patterns of Pain in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in China: A Latent Class Analysis.Pain and therapy · 2025Article
- Ten-year trends of the digital divides and its effect on healthy aging among older adults in China from 2011 to 2020.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Selection, Optimization, and Compensation Strategies Used by Older Adults to Live Well With Technology: Qualitative Study.JMIR aging · 2025Article
- Digital exclusion and loneliness in older people: panel data analysis of three longitudinal cohort studies.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Determinants of depressive symptoms in multinational middle-aged and older adults.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Association between sensory impairment and cognitive frailty among older people: Evidence from four nationwide cohort studies.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2025Article
- Perceived digital threats influencing smartphone use among the aging population.Scientific reports · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesOlder people are more likely to have digital exclusion, which is associated with poor health. This study investigated the relationship between digital exclusion and cognitive impairment in older adults from 23 countries across five longitudinal surveys. DESIGN AND MEASUREMENTS: Digital exclusion is defined as self-reported non-use of the Internet. We assessed cognitive impairment on three dimensions: orientation, memory, and executive function. We used generalized estimation equations fitting binary logistic regression with exchangeable correlations to study the relationship between digital exclusion and cognitive impairment, and apply the minimum sufficiently adjusted set of causally directed acyclic graphs as the adjusted variable. SETTING AND
participantsWe pooled a nationally representative sample of older adults from five longitudinal studies, including the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal study (CHARLS), the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the Mexican Health and Ageing Study (MHAS) and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in European (SHARE).
resultsWe included 62,413 participants from five longitudinal studies. Digital exclusion varied by country, ranging from 21.69% (SHARE) in Denmark to 97.15% (CHARLS) in China. In the original model, digital exclusion was significantly associated with cognitive impairment in all five studies. In the adjusted model, these associations remained statistically significant: CHARLS (Odds ratio [OR] = 2.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.84-4.28, ELSA (1.92 [1.70-2.18]), HRS(2.48[2.28-2.71), MHAS (1.92 [1.74-2.12]), and SHARE (2.60 [2.34-2.88]).
conclusionOur research shows that a significant proportion of older people suffer from digital exclusion, especially in China. Digital exclusion was positively correlated with cognitive impairment. These findings suggest that digital inclusion could be an important strategy to improve cognitive function and reduce the risk of cognitive impairment in older adults.
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