Effect of the psychosocial working environment on cognition and dementia – A systematic review

Objective: The high incidence of cognitive impairments in the aging population together with the challenges it imposes on health systems raise the question of the impact of working life on cognitive abilities. The study therefore reviewed recent work on the impact of psychosocial work conditions on cognitive functioning as well as on dementia. Methods: Relevant articles were identified by a systematic literature search in PubMed and PsycInfo using a standardized search string and specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. We included articles reporting on cohort studies, case-control studies, and randomized controlled trials that were conducted in the working population. Two independent reviewers carried out the evaluation of the studies in three subsequent phases: (i) title-abstract-screening, (ii) full text-screening, and (iii) checklist-based quality assessment. Results: Methodical evaluation of the identified articles resulted in 17 studies with adequate quality. We found evidence for a protective effect of high job control, high work complexity with people and data on risk of cognitive decline and dementia. The study also revealed that long working hours significantly decreased and napping during nightshifts significantly increased cognitive performance. Conclusion: Psychosocial work conditions can have an impact on cognitive functioning and even on dementia risk. As the world of work is undergoing fundamental changes such as accelerated technological advances and an aging working population, optimizing work conditions is essential in order to promote and maintain cognitive abilities up to old age.