scholarly journals Oral Health Symptoms and Cognitive Function Among US Community‐Dwelling Chinese Older Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (S3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Darina V. Petrovsky ◽  
Bei Wu ◽  
Weiyu Mao ◽  
XinQi Dong
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S349-S349
Author(s):  
Bei Wu ◽  
Stephen K Shuman ◽  
Michele Saunders

Abstract There is an increasing awareness of the importance of oral health and its associated risk factors among older adults. This symposium includes four papers that address cognitive function, social support and oral health problems and symptoms among older adults in the U.S. and China. Lu and his colleagues examined the reciprocal relationship between cognitive function and complete tooth loss Chinese adults age 50+ using the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal study. The results show that there is a reciprocal relationship between these two indicators. The second paper used the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE) and examined the associations between tooth/gums symptoms and changes in cognitive function in Chinese older immigrants. The results reveal that having teeth symptoms was associated with a decline in cognitive function. Using the same PINE data, the third paper examined the association between different characteristics of social relationships and the number of oral health problems among U.S. older Chinese adults. Wu and her colleagues conducted a partner-assisted pilot intervention to improve oral health for community-dwelling older adults with either mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia. The results of this 6-month intervention show that persons in the treatment group had more improvement in oral hygiene than those in the control group. Findings from these four papers illustrate that cognitive function, social support, and oral health are interrelated. This symposium highlights the importance of improving cognitive health, social support, and oral health for middle-aged and older adults.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-337
Author(s):  
Jinlei Li ◽  
Zijuan Wang ◽  
Zhiwei Lian ◽  
Zhikai Zhu ◽  
Yuanli Liu

Aims: To examine the association of social networks and community engagement with cognitive impairment among community-dwelling Chinese older adults. Methods: From November 2017 to May 2018, we selected 1,115 elderly individuals from 3 Chinese communities (Beijing, Hefei, and Lanzhou) using a random-cluster sampling method, and recorded data on demographics, social network characteristics, community activities, and cognitive function. The odds ratios (ORs) of these associations were adjusted for potential confounders in logistic regression models. Results: The prevalence of cognitive impairment was 25.7% (n = 287). An adequate social network (OR 0.55; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.33–0.91) and enough social support from friends (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.29–0.62) were negatively associated with cognitive impairment. Family support was not significantly associated with cognitive impairment (OR 0.64; 95% CI 0.34–1.21). Taking part in elderly group travel, communication with others using WeChat, and community activities such as Tai Chi and walking together were negatively associated with cognitive impairment. Conclusion: Social network characteristics and community engagement were found to be related to cognitive function among community-dwelling Chinese elderly adults.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S350-S350
Author(s):  
Darina V Petrovsky ◽  
Bei Wu ◽  
Weiyu Mao ◽  
XinQi Dong

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between tooth/gums symptoms and changes in cognitive function. We used data from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago, a two-wave epidemiological study of 2,713 U.S. Chinese older adults. We selected self-reported oral (tooth and gum) symptoms as independent variables. We measured global function and three cognitive domains: episodic memory, executive function and working memory. Adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, participants who reported having teeth symptoms at baseline, experienced their global cognition and episodic memory decrease (both p<0.05). Participants who reported having teeth symptoms at baseline, experienced a faster rate of decline in global cognition for every additional year. However, this effect disappeared once we adjusted for all covariates. We found no significant relationship between baseline gum symptoms and change of cognitive function. Future research directions, clinical and policy implications will be discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 073346482110173
Author(s):  
Darina V. Petrovsky ◽  
Bei Wu ◽  
Nancy A. Hodgson ◽  
XinQi Dong

Engaging in leisure activities that are cognitively simulating and enjoyable may be protective against cognitive decline in older adults; yet, few studies have examined this topic. We used two waves of data from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly and ran mixed-effects regression models to examine the relationship between baseline art activity attendance (including attending museum, musical arts, or both) and change in cognitive function (global, episodic memory, working memory, and executive function) among 2,703 older U.S. Chinese adults. We found that compared with older adults who did not attend any art activities, those who reported attending both art activities experienced a slower rate of change in episodic memory (estimate = −0.07; SE = 0.03; p = .01) and executive function (estimate = −0.06; SE = .03; p = .04). Our study findings point to the importance of attending art-based culture events among U.S. Chinese older adults.


Author(s):  
Tran Dai Tri Han ◽  
Keiko Nakamura ◽  
Kaoruko Seino ◽  
Vo Nu Hong Duc ◽  
Thang Van Vo

This study examined the prevalence of cognitive impairment among older adults in central Vietnam and the roles of communication (with or without communication devices) in the association between cognitive impairment and hearing loss. This cross-sectional study was performed on 725 randomly selected community-dwelling older adults aged ≥60 years from Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam. Participants attended a face-to-face survey. Sociodemographic characteristics, social interaction with or without communication devices, health status and cognitive function using the Mini-Mental State Examination were reported. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was performed to quantify the association between hearing loss and cognitive function by frequency of communication with and without devices. Mild and severe cognitive impairment had prevalence rates of 23.6% and 19.3%, respectively. Cognitive impairment was more prevalent among older adults with hearing-loss, vision loss and difficulties with instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). The association between hearing loss and cognitive impairment was not significant when older adults had frequent communication with others using devices. This study presented the relatively high prevalence of cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older adults in Vietnam. Frequent communication using devices attenuated the association between hearing loss and cognitive impairment.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Bin Yu ◽  
Andrew Steptoe ◽  
Yongjie Chen ◽  
Xiaohua Jia

Abstract Background Social isolation and loneliness have each been associated with cognitive decline, but most previous research is limited to Western populations. This study examined the relationships of social isolation and loneliness on cognitive function among Chinese older adults. Methods This study used two waves of data (2011 and 2015) from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study and analyses were restricted to those respondents aged 50 and older. Social isolation, loneliness, and cognitive function were measured at baseline. Follow-up measures on cognitive function were obtained for 7761 participants (mean age = 60.97, s.d. = 7.31; male, 50.8%). Lagged dependent variable models adjusted for confounding factors were used to evaluate the association between baseline isolation, loneliness, and cognitive function at follow-up. Results Loneliness was significantly associated with the cognitive decline at follow-up (episodic memory: β = −0.03, p < 0.01; mental status: β = −0.03, p < 0.01) in the partially adjusted models. These associations became insignificant after additional confounding variables (chronic diseases, health behaviors, disabilities, and depressive symptoms) were taken into account (all p > 0.05). By contrast, social isolation was significantly associated with decreases in all cognitive function measures at follow-up (episodic memory: β = −0.05, p < 0.001; mental status: β = −0.03, p < 0.01) even after controlling for loneliness and all confounding variables. Conclusions Social isolation is associated with cognitive decline in Chinese older adults, and the relationships are independent of loneliness. These findings expand our knowledge about the links between social relationships and the cognitive function in non-Western populations.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109980042098389
Author(s):  
Jongmin Park ◽  
Chang Won Won ◽  
Leorey N. Saligan ◽  
Youn-Jung Kim ◽  
Yoonju Kim ◽  
...  

Background: Epigenetic age acceleration has been studied as a promising biomarker of age-related conditions, including cognitive aging. This pilot study aims to explore potential cognitive aging-related biomarkers by investigating the relationship of epigenetic age acceleration and cognitive function and by examining the epigenetic age acceleration differences between successful cognitive aging (SCA) and normal cognitive aging (NCA) among Korean community-dwelling older adults (CDOAs). Methods: We used data and blood samples of Korean CDOAs from the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study. The participants were classified into two groups, SCA (above the 50th percentile in all domains of cognitive function) and NCA. The genome-wide DNA methylation profiling array using Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip was used to calculate the following: the DNA methylation age, universal epigenetic age acceleration, intrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (IEAA), and extrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (EEAA). We also used Pearson correlation analysis and independent t-tests to analyze the data. Results: Universal age acceleration correlated with the Frontal Assessment Battery test results ( r = −0.42, p = 0.025); the EEAA correlated with the Word List Recognition test results ( r = −0.41, p = 0.027). There was a significant difference between SCA and NCA groups in IEAA ( p = 0.041, Cohen’s d = 0.82) and EEAA ( p = 0.042, Cohen’s d = 0.78). Conclusions: Epigenetic age acceleration can be used as a biomarker for early detection of cognitive decline in Korean community-dwelling older adults. Large longitudinal studies are warranted.


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