Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40533082›Full record

ArticleAging & mental health2025

Wellbeing and memory function: testing bidirectional associations in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

Amber John, Roopal Desai, Aphrodite Eshetu, Emily Willroth, Natalie Marchant, Barbara Woodward-Carlton, Dorina Cadar, Jiamin Yin, David Bartres-Faz, Rob Saunders and 5 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Aging & mental health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Amber JohnResearch Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, ADAPT Lab, UCL, London, UK.
Roopal DesaiResearch Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, ADAPT Lab, UCL, London, UK.
Aphrodite EshetuResearch Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, ADAPT Lab, UCL, London, UK.
Emily WillrothPsychological & Brain Sciences, University of Washington in St Louis, St Louis, WA, USA.
Natalie MarchantDivision of Psychiatry, UCL, London, UK.
Barbara Woodward-Carlton
Dorina CadarBrighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
Jiamin YinDepartment of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
David Bartres-FazFaculty of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Rob SaundersResearch Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, CORE Data Lab, Centre for Outcomes and Research Effectiveness, UCL, London, UK.
Georgia BellResearch Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, ADAPT Lab, UCL, London, UK.
Aida Suarez GonzalezDementia Research Centre, UCL, London, UK.
Darya GaysinaEDGE Lab, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
Marcus RichardsMRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, London, UK.
Joshua StottResearch Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, ADAPT Lab, UCL, London, UK.

Funding

Project-001R01AG017644 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF LONDON INST OF NEUROLOGY · PI Andrew Steptoe · 2000 to 2026
$56.2M
Research Education ComponentP30AG066444 · NIA · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI Susan Lynn Stark · 2020 to 2026
$28.7M
Well-being as a Protective Factor against Cognitive Decline and Dementia RiskR00AG071838 · NIA · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI WILLROTH, EMILY C · 2022 to 2024
$853k
NIA NIH HHS P30 AG066444NIA NIH HHS R00 AG071838NIA NIH HHS R01 AG017644
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe aim of this study was to test the bidirectional relationship between wellbeing and memory in a large, nationally representative sample of people aged 50+.

methodData were used from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a longitudinal cohort comprising 12,099 people aged 50+, excluding people with dementia at baseline. Repeated measures of wellbeing (CASP-19) and episodic memory (immediate and delayed recall of a word list) were available 9-times over a 16-year period. Cross-lagged models were fitted to test bidirectional relationships between wellbeing and memory.

resultsHigher wellbeing was associated with higher subsequent immediate and delayed memory scores at all time points, though effect sizes were small (standardised betas ranging from 0.04-0.07). There was not evidence that higher memory scores were associated with subsequent wellbeing.

conclusionHigher levels of wellbeing are associated with better memory function over 16 years. The study does not provide evidence that the association operates in the opposite direction. The lack of evidence for a relationship between memory and subsequent wellbeing may suggest that associations in this direction only emerge after development of clinically-relevant cognitive impairment. Better wellbeing may be a protective factor in retaining memory function from middle to later adulthood.

Indexed as

AgingMemory, EpisodicPersonal SatisfactionAgedAged, 80 and overEnglandFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle Agedageingcohort studylongitudinalmemoryWellbeing

Identifiers

PMID40533082
PMCPMC12353256

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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.