Abstract
Introduction
Frequent social contact benefits cognition in later life although evidence is lacking on the potential importance of the modes chosen by older adults for interacting with others in their social network.
Method
11,513 participants in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) provided baseline information on hearing status and social contact mode and frequency of use. Multilevel growth curve models compared episodic memory (immediate and delayed recall) at baseline and long-term in participants who interacted frequently (offline only or offline and online combined), compared to infrequently, with others in their social network.
Results
Frequent offline (β = 0.29; p < 0.05) and combined offline and online (β = 0.76; p < 0.001) social interactions predicted better episodic memory after adjustment for multiple confounding factors. We observed positive long-term influences of combined offline and online interactions on memory in participants without hearing loss (β = 0.48, p = 0.001) but not of strictly offline interactions (β = 0.00, p = 0.970). In those with impaired hearing, long-term memory was positively influenced by both modes of engagement (offline only: β = 0.93, p < 0.001; combined online and offline: β = 1.47, p < 0.001). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings.
Conclusion
Supplementing conventional social interactions with online communication modes may help older adults, especially those living with hearing loss, sustain, and benefit cognitively from, personal relationships.
Do Communication Patterns Affect the Association between Cognitive Impairment and Hearing Loss among Older Adults in Vietnam?
