Cognitive functioning and associated factors in older adults in South Africa

Abstract

Cognition can be divided into domains of ability including orientation, memory, executive function and language.1 Cognitive function is influenced by many factors such as genes, home environment in childhood, education and occupation.1 Cognitive decline is first detectable in the fifth decade of life, with age-related decline from this point onwards.2 There is little research on cognitive functioning and variability among older adults in South Africa. In various cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, better cognitive performance in older adults has been found to be associated with: (i) socioeconomic status (younger age, female or male gender, higher education, greater wealth, population group); [3][4][5] (ii) illness conditions and health status (fewer depressive symptoms, no hypertension, no cardiovascular disease, particularly heart failure, no type 2 diabetes, no insomnia, no malnourishment, better quality of life (QoL) and life satisfaction); 6-13 (iii) social coherence and contact (attendance at religious gatherings); 4,14 and (iv) healthy behaviour (physical activity, no smoking and moderate alcohol use). [15][16][17][18][19][20] We aimed to investigate cognitive functioning and associated factors in a national probability sample of older South Africans who participated in the Study of Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE) in 2008. MethodsIn 2008 we conducted a national population-based cross-sectional study with a sample of 3 840 South African adults aged ≥50 years. The SAGE twostage probability sample design yielded national and sub-national estimates to an acceptable precision at provincial level, by locality type (urban and rural) and population group (black, coloured, Indian/Asian and white). The individual response rate among adults aged ≥50 years was 77%.We administered a questionnaire surveying socio-demographic characteristics and health variables, and conducted anthropometric and blood pressure measurements. The questionnaire was translated into the major languages of the participants (Afrikaans, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana, isiXhosa and isiZulu). Simultaneous translation was used for respondents who were interviewed in a language for which a formal translated version had not been produced, with emphasis on consistent translation of keywords and phrases.To ensure the quality of translation, a list of keywords and phrases provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) for translation and back-translation were translated from English into vernacular languages by the original translator, then back-translated into English by an independent translator who provided all possible interpretations. The back-translations were cross-checked with the original English version. If no match was found, both translator and back-translator were Objective. To investigate cognitive functioning and associated factors in a national probability sample of older South Africans who participated in the Study of Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE) in 2008. Methods. In 2008 we conducted a national pop...

Knowledge of the physical activity guidelines and factors associated with physical activity participation among adults in Harar town, eastern Ethiopia

“…Participants who sat for fewer than 2 hours per day were more likely to practice physical activity than those sitting more than 2 hours per day. This result was similar with study done in South Africa26 and Nigeria 27 28. The reason is that participants sitting less can spent more time in active tasks that can assist them for physical activity practice.…”

“…Evidence shown that different factors were associated with attaining physical activity guideline. For instance, sociodemographic factor (sex, age, educational status, occupation and income) and other factors like knowledge of physical activity guideline, satisfaction with current level of physical activity, future intentions to engage in physical activity and sitting time in day were associated with physical activity participation 5–29. There has been limited study on knowledge of physical activity guideline and its participation in Ethiopia.…”

Factors associated with cognitive function in older adults in Mexico

“…These findings compare with other SAGE publications examining cognition in Ghana, Tanzania, India ( 18 ), South Africa ( 22 ), and China ( 23 ), where poorer cognitive function was observed in those of advancing age, rural living, lower education, and wealth levels, and poorer subjective health status, including deterioration in ADLs and slower gait. Subjective losses in memory and daily functioning and its association with poorer cognition have been described as features of mild cognitive impairment ( 6 , 7 ), and testing these along with gait speed ( 24 ) may aid the early detection of those at high risk of dementia and provide a point for successful interventions.…”

Childhood deprivation and later-life cognitive function in a population-based study of older rural South Africans

“…Existing evidence demonstrates that educational attainment is strongly associated with cognitive function among older adults in South Africa (Humphreys et al, 2017; Peltzer and Phaswana-Mafuya, 2012). However, given that Bantu schooling in Apartheid South Africa was of very poor quality, there may be early-life factors that would influence both of one’s educational attainment and their later-life cognitive health.…”