We aimed to explore whether social relationships and cognitive function were reciprocally related and whether healthy lifestyles mediate their association. This study included 3372 Chinese adults from the years 2014-2018 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. Baseline social relationships were negatively associated with a change in cognitive function (β = -0.030, p = 0.043). Participants with a 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in social relationships had an approximately 6% reduced risk of developing cognitive impairment. However, baseline cognitive function did not independently predict social relationships. The association between △social relationships and △cognitive function was partially mediated by △a healthy lifestyle (B = 0.025, 95% CI = 0.013-0.041). The association between social relationships and cognitive function may be unidirectional. Policies that promote cognitive function based on social relationships would benefit by taking into account lifestyle factors. Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Weibo Ma, Bei Wu, Ying Yu, Renyao Zhong. Longitudinal associations between social relationships and cognitive function among Chinese older adults: The mediating role of healthy lifestyles. Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.). 2023 Sep-Oct;53:102-108
PMID: 37478806
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