Social participation and risk of developing dementia

Sommerlad, Andrew; Kivimäki, Mika; Larson, Eric B.; Röhr, Susanne; Shirai, Kokoro; Singh‐Manoux, Archana; Livingston, Gill

doi:10.1038/s43587-023-00387-0

Cited by 35 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 147 publications

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“…Such ideas have been proposed by others studying protective risk factors for elevated amyloid burden and Alzheimer's disease (AD)–related pathology. 8 , 11 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Continuing to view psychosocial health as a comprehensive measure will likely remain important as the field aims to design and tailor intervention methods that are able to successfully target many facets of psychosocial health. 4 , 37 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, it means that there is a smaller chance that our results are reflecting reverse causation, which remains a major challenge in observational research. 37 Next, assessments of psychosocial factors cross‐sectionally are limited in their ability to make inferences about the life course or the mechanism by which such pathological changes occur over time. 3 , 4 , 5 Moreover, the assessment of psychosocial factors in late life is arguably too late for meaningful intervention.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social relationships, amyloid burden, and dementia: The ARIC‐PET study

Groechel,

Liu,

Liu

et al. 2024

Alz & Dem Diag Ass & Dis Mo

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INTRODUCTIONThis study aimed to assess whether social relationships in mid‐life reduce the risk of dementia related to amyloid burden.METHODSParticipants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study were assessed for social support and isolation (visit 2; 1990–1992). A composite measure, “social relationships,” was generated. Brain amyloid was evaluated with florbetapir positron emission tomography (PET); (visit 5; 2012–2014). Incident dementia cases were identified following visit 5 through 2019 using ongoing surveillance. Relative contributions of mid‐life social relationships and elevated brain amyloid to incident dementia were evaluated with Cox regression models.RESULTSAmong 310 participants without dementia, strong mid‐life social relationships were associated independently with lower dementia risk. Elevated late‐life brain amyloid was associated with greater dementia risk.DISCUSSIONAlthough mid‐life social relationships did not moderate the relationship between amyloid burden and dementia, these findings affirm the importance of strong social relationships as a potentially protective factor against dementia.

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“…Such ideas have been proposed by others studying protective risk factors for elevated amyloid burden and Alzheimer's disease (AD)–related pathology. 8 , 11 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Social relationships, amyloid burden, and dementia: The ARIC‐PET study

Groechel,

Liu,

Liu

et al. 2024

Alz & Dem Diag Ass & Dis Mo

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“…These data were collected during the initial years of the ALSOP and ASPREE studies, with the domains and items assessed in questionnaires available in a previous publication ( McNeil et al, 2019 ). The selection of 25 social health indicators from the available data was informed by prior research ( Cornwell et al, 2008 ; Holt-Lunstad, 2018 ; Joyce et al, 2022 ; Sommerlad et al, 2023 ; Wood et al, 2017 ). Supplementary Table 1 shows the list of indicators, along with their corresponding item responses, measured on a Likert scale or binary format.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Activities and Risk of Dementia in Community-Dwelling Older People: Gender-Specific Findings From a Prospective Cohort Study

Htun,

Teshale,

Owen

et al. 2024

The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences

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Objectives This study examines gender-specific associations between a wide range of social activities and dementia risk. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted involving community-dwelling older Australians (≥70 years) without significant cognitive impairment at enrolment. During the first year of enrolment, we assessed 25 self-reported social activities covering various aspects, including support from relatives and friends, community participation, social interactions with surroundings, and loneliness. Dementia diagnosis followed DSM-IV criteria, adjudicated by an international expert panel. To estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations between social activities and dementia, we performed Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for age, educational attainment, baseline global cognition, and depressive symptoms. Results Among 9,936 participants who completed all social activity questionnaires (median [IQR]age:73.4[71.6-77.1] years; 47.4% men), dementia was diagnosed in 3.8% of men (n=181/4,705) and 2.6% of women (n=138/5,231) over a median 6.4 years (IQR:5.3-7.6, range:0.2-10.1) follow-up. Gender-specific relationships emerged: caregiving for a person with illness/disability in women (HR:0.65,95%CI:0.42-0.99), and having ≥9 relatives feeling close to call for help in men (HR:0.56, 95%CI:0.33-0.96; reference <9 relatives) were associated with reduced dementia risk. Unexpectedly, in women, having ≥5 friends with whom they felt comfortable discussing private matters was associated with a greater dementia risk (HR:1.69,95%CI:1.10-2.59; reference ≤2 friends). Imputed models further identified that babysitting/childminding was associated with a lower dementia risk in men (HR:0.75,95%CI:0.56-0.99). No other social activities showed significant associations with dementia. Discussion This study provides evidence of social activities influencing dementia risk. Further investigations are required to uncover the mechanisms driving these observed relationships.

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“…Social participation has proven efficacious in decelerating the progression of dementia from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) [ 1 ], particularly in low- and middle-income countries [ 2 ]. To enhance social participation among older adults with MCI, researchers are engaged in reducing the obstructions to social participation [ 3 ] and creating and customizing a variety of constructive social activities [ 4 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital Storytelling Intervention for Enhancing the Social Participation of People With Mild Cognitive Impairment: Co-Design and Usability Study

Zhu,

Al Mahmud,

Liu

2024

JMIR Aging

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Background Community-based social participation has shown promise in delaying cognitive decline in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who are at risk of developing dementia. Although group storytelling interventions have proven effective, the need for a skilled workforce to support people with MCI can limit broader community implementation. Technology-based interventions may offer a solution to this limitation by replicating the abilities of therapists. Objective This study aims to co-design a digital storytelling intervention and evaluate its usability. Methods This co-design process involved 3 stages, engaging people with MCI (n=12), their caregivers (n=4), and therapists (n=5) in Beijing, China. In the first stage, we used card sorting and voting methods to identify potential incentives for social participation and target the specific abilities that people with MCI wanted to enhance. In the second stage, we conducted brainstorming sessions with people with MCI and their caregivers to identify the potential features of a digital storytelling application named Huiyou (“meeting new friends” in Chinese). Finally, we assessed Huiyou’s usability with people with MCI and therapists, leading to iterative improvements based on the usability findings. Results We uncovered a crucial link between boosting the self-confidence of people with MCI and their ability to address social participation challenges. Notably, we identified memory improvement and enhanced language expression as key factors for effective communication with grandchildren. Subsequently, participants suggested features and interfaces to address these challenges, leading to the development of Huiyou, a group-based digital storytelling application featuring functions such as generating story materials, conducting memory retrieval activities, and sharing stories. It received an “excellent” rating in the User Experience Questionnaire benchmark, displaying high levels of attractiveness, dependability, stimulation, and novelty. People with MCI achieved an average task completion rate of 87% (n=19; SD 0.13) of the 22 tasks. However, feedback from people with MCI and therapists highlighted usability issues in navigation, activity management, user interface, and feature optimization, indicating a need for improved accessibility and efficiency. Conclusions The co-design approach contributed to developing the Huiyou prototype, supporting community-based social participation. User feedback highlighted the potential of Huiyou to enhance well-being and facilitate meaningful social interactions while maintaining crucial existing relationships.

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Social participation and risk of developing dementia

Cited by 35 publications

References 147 publications

Social relationships, amyloid burden, and dementia: The ARIC‐PET study

Social relationships, amyloid burden, and dementia: The ARIC‐PET study

Social Activities and Risk of Dementia in Community-Dwelling Older People: Gender-Specific Findings From a Prospective Cohort Study

Digital Storytelling Intervention for Enhancing the Social Participation of People With Mild Cognitive Impairment: Co-Design and Usability Study

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