Lifestyle activities in mid-life contribute to cognitive reserve in late-life, independent of education, occupation and late-life activities

AbstractIntroductionThis study tested the hypothesis that mid-life intellectual, physical and social activities contribute to cognitive reserve (CR).Methods205 individuals (196 with MRI) aged 66-88 from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (www.cam-can.com) were studied, with cognitive ability and structural brain health measured as fluid IQ and total grey matter volume, respectively. Mid-life activities were measured using the Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire.ResultsMultivariable linear regression found that mid-life activities (MA) made a unique contribution to late-life cognitive ability independent of education, occupation and late-life activities. Crucially, MA moderated the relationship between late-life cognitive ability and brain structure, with the cognitive ability of people with higher MA less dependent on their brain structure, consistent with the concept of CR.Conclusions. Mid-life intellectual, physical and social activities contribute uniquely to CR. The modifiability of these activities has implications for public health initiatives aimed at dementia prevention.

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Contribution of IQ in young adulthood to the associations of education and occupation with cognitive ability in older age

BMC Geriatrics ◽

10.1186/s12877-021-02290-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Insa Feinkohl ◽

Petra Kozma ◽

Friedrich Borchers ◽

Simone J. T. van Montfort ◽

Jochen Kruppa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Cognitive Ability ◽

Young Adulthood ◽

Geriatric Depression Scale ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Late Life ◽

Summary Score ◽

Unique Contribution ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Sectional Analysis

Abstract Background Studies suggest that a higher education and occupation are each associated with a higher late-life cognitive ability, but their inter-relationships in their association with cognitive ability and the contribution of peak IQ in young adulthood (‘pre-morbid IQ’) often remain unclear. Methods Cross-sectional analysis of 623 participants aged ≥65 years of the BioCog study. Education was coded according to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED; range 1 to 6). Occupation was coded as ‘semi/unskilled’, ‘skilled manual’, ‘skilled non-manual’, ‘managerial’, ‘professional’. A summary score of global ability (‘g’) was constructed from six cognitive tests. Pre-morbid IQ was estimated from vocabulary. The Geriatric Depression Scale assessed symptoms of depression. Age- and sex-adjusted analyses of covariance were performed. Results Education (partial eta2 0.076; p < 0.001) and occupation (partial eta2 = 0.037; p < 0.001) were each significantly associated with g. For education, the association was attenuated but remained statistically significant when pre-morbid IQ was controlled for (partial eta2 0.036; p < 0.001) and was unchanged with additional adjustment for depression (partial eta2 0.037; p < 0.001). For occupation, the association with g was no longer significant when pre-morbid IQ (partial eta2 = 0.015; p = 0.06) and depression (partial eta2 = 0.011; p = 0.18) were entered as covariates in separate steps. When education and occupation were entered concurrently into the fully adjusted model, only education was independently associated with g (partial eta2 0.030; p < 0.001; occupation, p = 0.93). Conclusion While a higher education and a higher occupation were each associated with a higher late-life cognitive ability, only for education some unique contribution to cognitive ability remained over and above its relationship with pre-morbid IQ, depression, and occupation. Further research is needed to address whether a longer time spent in education may promote late-life cognitive ability.

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Lifestyle activities in mid-life contribute to cognitive reserve in late-life, independent of education, occupation, and late-life activities

Neurobiology of Aging ◽

10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.06.012 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 70 ◽

pp. 180-183 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Dennis Chan ◽

Meredith Shafto ◽

Rogier Kievit ◽

Fiona Matthews ◽

Molly Spink ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Reserve ◽

Late Life ◽

Lifestyle Activities

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Cognitive reserve and resilience: Possible mechanisms of dementia prevention

Alzheimer s & Dementia ◽

10.1002/alz.037931 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (S10) ◽

Author(s):

Gill Livingston ◽

Geir Selbaek ◽

Kenneth Rockwood ◽

Jonathan D Huntley ◽

Andrew Sommerlad ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Reserve ◽

Dementia Prevention

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Idea Density Measured in Late Life Predicts Subsequent Cognitive Trajectories: Implications for the Measurement of Cognitive Reserve

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gbr162 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 67 (6) ◽

pp. 677-686 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

S. T. Farias ◽

V. Chand ◽

L. Bonnici ◽

K. Baynes ◽

D. Harvey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Reserve ◽

Late Life

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The higher, the better: Cognitive reserve contributes to lifestyle activities in older age

Applied Neuropsychology Adult ◽

10.1080/23279095.2021.1950154 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Marina Martinčević ◽

Andrea Vranić

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Reserve ◽

Older Age ◽

Lifestyle Activities

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MEASURING SPACE AND TIME USE, PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AMONG NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING LATE-LIFE ASIAN IMMIGRANTS

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.709 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S196-S197

Author(s):

Wenjun Li ◽

Linda Churchill ◽

Jie Cheng ◽

Rachel Siden ◽

Annabella Aguirre ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Time Use ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Specific Activity ◽

Late Life ◽

Asian Immigrants ◽

Self Report ◽

Social Activities ◽

Space And Time ◽

English Speaking ◽

Gps Devices

Abstract Little is known about the health and health care needs of non-English Speaking late-life Asian immigrants. Due to language barriers and memory issues, self-report data are unreliable for investigating activity patterns in this population. In the ongoing NIA-funded Healthy Aging and Neighborhood Study, we developed a novel method to objectively measure space and time use, location- and time-specific physical and social activities using accelerometer (ACC) and Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. The study has recruited over 150 Caucasians and 150 minorities including 50 non-English speaking late-life Asian immigrants. The participants answered surveys in their preferred language (English, Spanish, traditional or simplified Chinese) and wore ACC/GPS devices for 7 to 10 full days. Activity levels and geographic locations are recorded every 30 seconds. Using the combined ACC/GPS data, time- and location-specific activity amounts, time use and mobility patterns are objectively measured. Baseline findings will be reported at the GSA conference.

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Engagement in Lifestyle Activities is Associated with Increased Alzheimer’s Disease-Associated Cortical Thickness and Cognitive Performance in Older Adults

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm9051424 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 1424 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Seongryu Bae ◽

Sangyoon Lee ◽

Kenji Harada ◽

Keitaro Makino ◽

Ippei Chiba ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Direct Effect ◽

Cortical Thickness ◽

Social Activities ◽

Direct Path ◽

Cognitive Activities ◽

Lifestyle Activities ◽

The Relationship

The aim of this study was to examine the association between lifestyle activities, including physical, cognitive, and social activities, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) signature cortical thickness, as well as to examine the mediating role of AD signature cortical thickness in lifestyle activities and cognitive function in community-dwelling healthy older adults. Participants were 1026 older adults who met the study inclusion criteria. The physical, cognitive, and social activities of daily life were assessed using a self-reporting questionnaire. AD signature cortical thickness was determined using FreeSurfer software. Cognitive function was evaluated using the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology-Functional Assessment Tool. Path analysis (based on structural equation modeling (SEM)) of cognitive activities indicated that the direct path from cognitive activities to cognitive function was significant (p < 0.001), as was the direct path from AD signature cortical thickness to cognitive function (p < 0.001). Physical (p < 0.05) or social activities (p < 0.05) had a direct effect on cognitive function. However, AD signature cortical thickness did not mediate the relationship between physical or social activities and cognitive function. Our findings suggest that higher levels of cognitive activities later in life have a significant and positive direct effect on cognitive function. Additionally, AD signature cortical thickness significantly mediates the relationship between cognitive activities and cognitive function.

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Education and Cognitive Functioning Across the Life Span

Psychological Science in the Public Interest ◽

10.1177/1529100620920576 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 6-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Martin Lövdén ◽

Laura Fratiglioni ◽

M. Maria Glymour ◽

Ulman Lindenberger ◽

Elliot M. Tucker-Drob

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Function ◽

Educational Attainment ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Life Span ◽

Cognitive Ability ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Cognitive Aging ◽

Early Adulthood ◽

Late Life ◽

Positive Effects

Cognitive abilities are important predictors of educational and occupational performance, socioeconomic attainment, health, and longevity. Declines in cognitive abilities are linked to impairments in older adults’ everyday functions, but people differ from one another in their rates of cognitive decline over the course of adulthood and old age. Hence, identifying factors that protect against compromised late-life cognition is of great societal interest. The number of years of formal education completed by individuals is positively correlated with their cognitive function throughout adulthood and predicts lower risk of dementia late in life. These observations have led to the propositions that prolonging education might (a) affect cognitive ability and (b) attenuate aging-associated declines in cognition. We evaluate these propositions by reviewing the literature on educational attainment and cognitive aging, including recent analyses of data harmonized across multiple longitudinal cohort studies and related meta-analyses. In line with the first proposition, the evidence indicates that educational attainment has positive effects on cognitive function. We also find evidence that cognitive abilities are associated with selection into longer durations of education and that there are common factors (e.g., parental socioeconomic resources) that affect both educational attainment and cognitive development. There is likely reciprocal interplay among these factors, and among cognitive abilities, during development. Education–cognitive ability associations are apparent across the entire adult life span and across the full range of education levels, including (to some degree) tertiary education. However, contrary to the second proposition, we find that associations between education and aging-associated cognitive declines are negligible and that a threshold model of dementia can account for the association between educational attainment and late-life dementia risk. We conclude that educational attainment exerts its influences on late-life cognitive function primarily by contributing to individual differences in cognitive skills that emerge in early adulthood but persist into older age. We also note that the widespread absence of educational influences on rates of cognitive decline puts constraints on theoretical notions of cognitive aging, such as the concepts of cognitive reserve and brain maintenance. Improving the conditions that shape development during the first decades of life carries great potential for improving cognitive ability in early adulthood and for reducing public-health burdens related to cognitive aging and dementia.

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