Social enrichment on the job: Complex work with people improves episodic memory, promotes brain reserve, and reduces the risk of dementia

Coleman, Max E.; Roessler, Meghan E H; Peng, Siyun; Roth, Adam R.; Risacher, Shannon L.; Saykin, Andrew J.; Apostolova, Liana G.; Perry, Brea L.

doi:10.1002/alz.13035

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…42 According to cognitive reserve theory, greater occupational skill complexity across the lifetime should help to protect later-life cognitive function from accumulating aging-related brain pathology or injury. 42 However, we observed heterogeneity in associations across our countries under study, and some prior studies have observed null associations, mixed associations across different types of occupational skill or cognitive function domains, 18,[22][23][24] or even faster rates of cognitive decline over time with greater occupational complexity. 21 Variations in the measurement and definition of occupational skill across studies may further contribute to inconsistencies in associations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…The existing evidence on lifetime occupational skill and later‐life cognitive health outcomes is somewhat mixed, with most studies observing protective associations, 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 and others observing null, negative, or mixed associations across different types of skills and cognitive domains. 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 Most of this existing research is from high‐income countries, with the exception of a study in Brazil; much of it includes non‐population‐representative samples, and it does not capture the diversity of job types experienced around the world. Greater occupational skill complexity may not be uniformly associated with better later‐life cognitive outcomes across global populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lifetime occupational skill and later‐life cognitive function among older adults in the United States, Mexico, India, and South Africa

Kobayashi,

O'Shea,

Wixom

et al. 2023

Alzheimer's & Dementia

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INTRODUCTIONWe conducted a cross‐national comparison of the association between main lifetime occupational skills and later‐life cognitive function across four economically and socially distinct countries.METHODSData were from population‐based studies of aging and their Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocols (HCAPs) in the US, South Africa, India, and Mexico (N = 10,037; Age range: 50 to 105 years; 2016 to 2020). Main lifetime occupational skill was classified according to the International Standard Classification of Occupations. Weighted, adjusted regression models estimated pooled and country‐specific associations between main lifetime occupational skill and later‐life general cognitive function in men and women.RESULTSWe observed positive gradients between occupational skill and later‐life cognitive function for men and women in the US and Mexico, a positive gradient for women but not men in India, and no association for men or women in South Africa.DISCUSSIONMain lifetime occupations may be a source of later‐life cognitive reserve, with cross‐national heterogeneity in this association.Highlights No studies have examined cross‐national differences in the association of occupational skill with cognition. We used data from Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocols in the US, Mexico, India, and South Africa. The association of occupational skill with cognitive function varies by country and gender.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lifetime occupational skill and later‐life cognitive function among older adults in the United States, Mexico, India, and South Africa

Kobayashi,

O'Shea,

Wixom

et al. 2023

Alzheimer's & Dementia

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“…Having a mentally stimulating job and engaging in other mentally stimulating activities may also help build cognitive reserve. [165][166][167][168][169][170] Other researchers emphasize the indirect effects of the number of years of formal education, such as its effects on dementia risk through socioeconomic status (SES). SES typically is defined as access to economic resources, including income, education, employment and occupation, but also includes factors such as financial security and perceived social standing.…”

Section: Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Having a mentally stimulating job and engaging in other mentally stimulating activities may also help build cognitive reserve. 165 , 166 , 167 , 168 , 169 , 170 …”

Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

2024 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures

2024

Alzheimer's & Dementia

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This article describes the public health impact of Alzheimer's disease (AD), including prevalence and incidence, mortality and morbidity, use and costs of care and the ramifications of AD for family caregivers, the dementia workforce and society. The Special Report discusses the larger health care system for older adults with cognitive issues, focusing on the role of caregivers and non‐physician health care professionals. An estimated 6.9 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's dementia today. This number could grow to 13.8 million by 2060, barring the development of medical breakthroughs to prevent or cure AD. Official AD death certificates recorded 119,399 deaths from AD in 2021. In 2020 and 2021, when COVID‐19 entered the ranks of the top ten causes of death, Alzheimer's was the seventh‐leading cause of death in the United States. Official counts for more recent years are still being compiled. Alzheimer's remains the fifth‐leading cause of death among Americans age 65 and older. Between 2000 and 2021, deaths from stroke, heart disease and HIV decreased, whereas reported deaths from AD increased more than 140%. More than 11 million family members and other unpaid caregivers provided an estimated 18.4 billion hours of care to people with Alzheimer's or other dementias in 2023. These figures reflect a decline in the number of caregivers compared with a decade earlier, as well as an increase in the amount of care provided by each remaining caregiver. Unpaid dementia caregiving was valued at $346.6 billion in 2023. Its costs, however, extend to unpaid caregivers’ increased risk for emotional distress and negative mental and physical health outcomes. Members of the paid health care and broader community‐based workforce are involved in diagnosing, treating and caring for people with dementia. However, the United States faces growing shortages across different segments of the dementia care workforce due to a combination of factors, including the absolute increase in the number of people living with dementia. Therefore, targeted programs and care delivery models will be needed to attract, better train and effectively deploy health care and community‐based workers to provide dementia care. Average per‐person Medicare payments for services to beneficiaries age 65 and older with AD or other dementias are almost three times as great as payments for beneficiaries without these conditions, and Medicaid payments are more than 22 times as great. Total payments in 2024 for health care, long‐term care and hospice services for people age 65 and older with dementia are estimated to be $360 billion. The Special Report investigates how caregivers of older adults with cognitive issues interact with the health care system and examines the role non‐physician health care professionals play in facilitating clinical care and access to community‐based services and supports. It includes surveys of caregivers and health care workers, focusing on their experiences, challenges, awareness and perceptions of dementia care navigation.

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“…Each test required participants to learn and remember details from a story, words, and an image, respectively. Using standardized scoring procedures (Weintraub et al, 2018), overall scores were standardized for each task, then averaged together, commensurate with past work (M. E. Coleman et al, 2023). Importantly, this method has been shown to connect to social bridging networks (L. J.…”

Section: General Cognitive Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and general cognition are uniquely associated with social connectedness in later life.

Krendl,

Peng,

Hamilton

et al. 2024

Psychology and Aging

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The mechanisms by which older adults maintain large, complex social networks are not well understood. Prior work has primarily focused on general cognitive ability (e.g., executive function, episodic memory), largely overlooking social cognition-the ability to process, store, and remember social information. Because social cognition plays a key role in navigating social interactions and is distinct from general cognition, we examined whether general and social cognition uniquely predicted the nature of older adults' personal social networks. Our study leveraged comprehensive measures of general cognition (executive function, episodic memory), social cognition (face memory and dynamic measures of cognitive and affective theory of mind), and a rigorous measure of personal social networks from 143 community-dwelling older adults. We found that, when modeled together and controlling for sociodemographic variables, only executive function and dynamic cognitive theory of mind positively predicted having social networks with relatively unfamiliar, loosely connected others, accounting for 17% of the unique variance in older adults' social connectedness. Interestingly, having a social network comprised primarily of close, tightly knit relationships was negatively associated with affective theory of mind performance. Findings are discussed in the context of the socialcognitive resource framework-which suggests that social cognition may be more engaged in relatively unfamiliar, versus close, interactions. Specifically, our results show that social-cognitive processes may be relatively automatic for individuals whose primary social relationships are very close but may be more strongly engaged for individuals whose interactions include at least some relatively less close relationships. Public Significance StatementThe present study examines a novel potential mechanism associated with older adults' social connectedness: social-cognitive function, the ability to process, store, and remember social information. We find that social and general cognitive processes may be more strongly engaged for older adults, whose typical social interactions include at least some relatively less close relationships.

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Social enrichment on the job: Complex work with people improves episodic memory, promotes brain reserve, and reduces the risk of dementia

Cited by 5 publications

References 77 publications

Lifetime occupational skill and later‐life cognitive function among older adults in the United States, Mexico, India, and South Africa

Lifetime occupational skill and later‐life cognitive function among older adults in the United States, Mexico, India, and South Africa

2024 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures

Social and general cognition are uniquely associated with social connectedness in later life.

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