Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T05:17:06.820Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Impact of social network on cognitive performances and age-related cognitive decline across a 20-year follow-up

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2011

Ralitsa Stoykova ,
Fanny Matharan ,
Jean-François Dartigues  and
Hélène Amieva
Ralitsa Stoykova*
Affiliation:
Research Center Inserm, U897, Bordeaux 2 University, France Department of Neurology, Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche, Bordeaux, France
Fanny Matharan
Affiliation:
Research Center Inserm, U897, Bordeaux 2 University, France
Jean-François Dartigues
Affiliation:
Research Center Inserm, U897, Bordeaux 2 University, France Department of Neurology, Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche, Bordeaux, France
Hélène Amieva
Affiliation:
Research Center Inserm, U897, Bordeaux 2 University, France
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Ralitsa Stoykova, INSERM, U897, Université Bordeaux Segalen, 146 rue Léo-Saignat, F-33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France. Phone: +33 (0)5 57 57 46 13; Fax: +33 (0)5 57 57 14 86. Email: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between social network and cognitive decline, taking into account the potential bias of reverse causality.

Methods: The study sample comprised 2055 elderly participants without dementia. We assessed baseline social functioning across four variables: size of social network, satisfaction with relationships, perception of being understood, and participation in social activities. A neuropsychological battery was proposed at baseline and repeated throughout follow-up. Linear mixed models were used to investigate the relationship between social network and baseline cognitive performances and cognitive decline during the 20-year follow-up.

Results: When controlling for the reverse causality bias by excluding participants who developed dementia during the study follow-up and after adjusting for covariates, the results showed that better social functioning at baseline was associated with better initial performances in the Isaacs Set Test and the Wechsler Paired Associate Test. However, there was no significant association with further cognitive decline. By contrast, when the bias of reverse causality was not controlled for (i.e. no exclusion of participants who developed dementia), the association between social network and global cognitive decline measured by MMSE was found to be statistically significant.

Conclusion: With the opportunity to exclude participants who developed dementia, and the particularly long follow-up of participants, we were able to investigate the relationship between social networks and age-related cognitive decline with a minimization of reverse causality bias. The results suggest that even though higher social functioning is concomitantly associated with better cognitive performances, it may not prevent subsequent decline.

Keywords

social networkcognitive declinereverse causality
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 23 , Issue 9 , November 2011 , pp. 1405 - 1412
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amieva, H. et al. (2008). Prodromal Alzheimer's disease: successive emergence of the clinical symptoms. Annals of Neurology, 64, 492–498.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Amieva, H., Stoykova, R., Matharan, F., Helmer, C., Antonucci, T. C. and Dartigues, J. F. (2010). What aspects of social network are protective for dementia? Not the quantity but the quality of social interactions is protective up to 15 years later. Psychosomatic Medicine, 72, 905–911.Google Scholar
Barnes, L. L., Mendes de Leon, C. F., Wilson, R. S., Bienias, J. L. and Evans, , , D. A. (2004). Social resources and cognitive decline in a population of older African Americans and whites. Neurology, 63, 2322–2326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bassuk, S. S., Glass, T. A. and Berkman, L. F. (1999). Social disengagement and incident cognitive decline in community-dwelling elderly persons. Annals of Internal Medicine, 131, 165–173.Google Scholar
Beauchamp, M. H. and Anderson, V. (2010). SOCIAL: an integrative framework for the development of social skills. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 39–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beland, F., Zunzunegui, M. V., Alvarado, B., Otero, A. and Del Ser, T. (2005). Trajectories of cognitive decline and social relations. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 60, 320–330.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benton, A. (1965). Manuel pour l'application du test de rétention visuelle. Applications cliniques et expérimentales. Paris: Centre de Psychologie Appliquée.Google Scholar
Dartigues, J. F. et al. (1992). The Paquid epidemiological program on brain ageing. Neuroepidemiology, 11 (Suppl. 1), 14–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ertel, K. A., Glymour, M. M. and Berkman, L. F. (2008). Effects of social integration on preserving memory function in a nationally representative US elderly population. American Journal of Public Health, 98, 1215–1220.Google Scholar
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E. and McHugh, P. R. (1975). “Mini-mental state”: a practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glei, D. A., Landau, D. A., Goldman, N., Chuang, Y. L., Rodriguez, G. and Weinstein, M. (2005). Participating in social activities helps preserve cognitive function: an analysis of a longitudinal, population-based study of the elderly. International Journal of Epidemiology, 34, 864–871.Google Scholar
Glymour, M. M., Weuve, J., Fay, M. E., Glass, T. and Berkman, L. F. (2008). Social ties and cognitive recovery after stroke: does social integration promote cognitive resilience? Neuroepidemiology, 31, 10–20.Google Scholar
Holtzman, R. E., Rebok, G. W., Saczynski, J. S., Kouzis, A. C., Wilcox Doyle, K. and Eaton, W. W. (2004). Social network characteristics and cognition in middle-aged and older adults. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 59, 278–284.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hughes, T. F., Andel, R., Small, B. J., Borenstein, A. R. and Mortimer, J. A. (2008). The association between social resources and cognitive change in older adults: evidence from the Charlotte County Healthy Aging Study.Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 63, 241–244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Isaacs, B. and Kennie, A. T. (1973). The Set test as an aid to the detection of dementia in old people. British Journal of Psychiatry, 123, 467–470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacqmin-Gadda, H., Fabrigoule, C., Commenges, D. and Dartigues, J. F. (1997). A 5-year longitudinal study of the Mini-Mental State Examination in normal aging. American Journal of Epidemiology, 145, 498–506.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jost, B. C. and Grossberg, G. T. (1996). The evolution of psychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's disease: a natural history study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 44, 1078–1081.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krueger, K. R., Wilson, R. S., Kamenetsky, J. M., Barnes, L. L., Bienias, J. L. and Bennett, D. A. (2009). Social engagement and cognitive function in old age. Experimental Aging Research, 35, 45–60.Google Scholar
Landes, A. M., Sperry, S. D., Strauss, M. E. and Geldmacher, D. S. (2001). Apathy in Alzheimer's disease. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 49, 1700–1707.Google Scholar
Laird, N. M. and Ware, J. H. (1982). Random-effects models for longitudinal data. Biometrics, 38, 963–974.Google Scholar
Lawton, M. P. and Brody, E. M. (1969). Assessment of older people: self-maintaining and instrumental activities of daily living. The Gerontologist, 9, 179–186.Google Scholar
Lund and Manchester Groups (1994). Clinical and neuropathological criteria for frontotemporal dementia. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 57, 416–418.Google Scholar
McKhann, G., Drachman, D., Folstein, M., Katzman, R., Price, D. and Stadian, E. M. (1984). Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease: report of the NINCDS-ADRDA Work Group under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease. Neurology, 34, 939–944.Google Scholar
McKeith, I. G. et al. (1996). Consensus guidelines for the clinical and pathologic diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB): report of the consortium on DLB international workshop. Neurology, 47, 1113–1124.Google Scholar
Petrosini, L. et al. (2009). On whether the environmental enrichment may provide cognitive and brain reserves. Brain Research Reviews, 61, 221–239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pillai, J. A. and Verghese, J. (2009). Social networks and their role in preventing dementia. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 51, 22–28.Google Scholar
Plassman, B. L., Williams, J. W., Burke, J. R., Holsinger, T. and Benjamin, S. (2010). Systematic review: factors associated with risk for and possible prevention of cognitive decline in later life. Annals of Internal Medicine, 153, 182–193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Román, G. C. et al. (1993). Vascular dementia: diagnostic criteria for research studies. Report of the NINDS-AIREN International Workshop. Neurology, 43, 250–260.Google Scholar
Schoon, I., Parsons, S., Rush, R. and Law, J. (2010). Children's language ability and psychosocial development: a 29-year follow-up study. Pediatrics, 126, 73–80.Google Scholar
Seeman, T. E., Lusignolo, T. M., Albert, M. and Berkman, L. (2001). Social relationships, social support, and patterns of cognitive aging in healthy, high-functioning older adults: MacArthur studies of successful aging. Health Psychology, 20, 243–255.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sharp, E. S., Reynolds, C. A., Pedersen, N. L. and Gatz, M. (2010). Cognitive engagement and cognitive aging: is openness protective? Psychology and Aging, 25, 60–73.Google Scholar
Silva-Gomez, A. B., Rojas, D., Juarez, I. and Flores, G. (2003). Decreased dendritic spine density on prefrontal cortical and hippocampal pyramidal neurons in postweaning social isolation rats.Brain Research, 983, 128–136.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1945). A standardized memory scale for clinical use. Journal of Psychology, 19, 87–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1981). WAIS-R Manual. New York: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Welch, B. L., Brown, D. G., Welch, A. S. and Lin, D. C. (1974). Isolation, restrictive confinement or crowding of rats for one year: weight, nucleic acids and protein of brain regions. Brain Research, 75, 71–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zunzunegui, M. V., Alvarado, B. E., Del Ser, T. and Otero, A. (2003). Social networks, social integration, and social engagement determine cognitive decline in community-dwelling Spanish older adults. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 58, 93–100.Google Scholar