Gesundheitswesen 2018; 80(08/09): 803
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1667712
Beiträge am Donnerstag, 13.09.2018
Vorträge
Lebensphasenbezogene Gesundheitsförderung und geschlechtersensible Prävention
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

The mediating effect of cognitive reserve between social isolation and cognitive function – Results of the population-based LIFE-Adult-Study

S Roehr
1   Universitaet Leipzig, Institut fuer Sozialmedizin, Arbeitsmedizin und Public Health (ISAP), Leipzig, Deutschland
,
T Luck
2   HS Nordhausen, Nordhausen, Deutschland
,
F Rodriguez
3   Universitaet Kaiserlautern, Kaiserslautern, Deutschland
4   University of Southern California, Edward R. Royal Institute on Aging, Los Angeles, Deutschland
,
J Thiery
5   Universität Leipzig, Institut für Laboratoriumsmedizin, Klinische Chemie und Molekulare Diagnostik, Leipzig, Deutschland
,
M Loeffler
6   LIFE – Leipziger Forschungszentrum fuer Zivilisationskrankheiten, Leipzig, Deutschland
7   Universitaet Leipzig, Institut für Medizinische Informatik, Statistik und Epidemiologie, Leipzig, Deutschland
,
A Villringer
8   Max-Planck-Instituts für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften, Leipzig, Deutschland
,
S Riedel-Heller
1   Universitaet Leipzig, Institut fuer Sozialmedizin, Arbeitsmedizin und Public Health (ISAP), Leipzig, Deutschland
› Institutsangaben
Weitere Informationen

Publikationsverlauf

Publikationsdatum:
03. September 2018 (online)

Auch verfügbar auf
 

Background:

Social isolation is rapidly increasing in many societies, having strong negative effects on general health as well as mortality. Cognitive decline and dementia are two outcomes associated with social isolation. We aimed to investigate whether cognitive reserve could buffer the adverse effect that social isolation has on cognitive function.

Methods:

Data from dementia-free participants between age 40 and 79 years of the population-based „Adult Study“ of the Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases (LIFE, n = 10,000) were investigated. Cognitive reserve was operationalized as educational attainment and indices of occupational mental demands derived from the O*NET database. Adjusted multiple mediation analysis was used to assess the mediating effect of cognitive reserve between social isolation and cognitive function.

Results:

Analyses included 8,168 (81.6%) individuals with a mean age of 58.5 (SD= 10.9) years and 55% being female. Social isolation was present in 1,448 (17.7%) participants. Cognitive reserve accounted for 20.0% of the effect of social isolation on executive function, and 22.8% on verbal/semantic abilities. Educational attainment had a greater effect than occupational mental demands. The effect of educational attainment persisted into older age (≥65 years).

Conclusion:

Cognitive reserve is an important mediator on the pathway between social isolation and cognitive function, attenuating the negative association of social isolation and cognitive function. Older individuals, particularly socially isolated ones, may benefit from maintaining a cognitively active life style.