The role of cognitive reserve accumulated in midlife for the relation between chronic diseases and cognitive decline in old age: A longitudinal follow-up across six years

Bavelier

Maurer

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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internet use provides cognitive stimulation and thereby may contribute to the accumulation of cognitive reserve that is proposed to be instrumental for maintaining cognitive health in ageing. As the first study so far, we examined possible gender differences in the relationship between Internet use and subsequent cognitive decline over six years assessed through changes in Trail Making Test (TMT) accomplishment time in 897 older adults. Latent change score modelling (taking into account baseline cognitive level, chronic diseases, age, and central contributions to cognitive reserve through education, profession, and leisure engagement) revealed a significant interaction of frequency of Internet use and gender. More frequent Internet use in the first wave of data collection significantly predicted a smaller subsequent augmentation in TMT accomplishment time (i.e., a smaller subsequent cognitive decline) only in men, but not in women. In conclusion, frequent Internet use may contribute to the accumulation of cognitive reserve. The gender difference noted highlights an advantage for males. While this finding could be interpreted as gender-specific, it may be that the Internet activities males engage in differ from those of females, calling for a fine-grained investigation of Internet-based activities in future studies.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internet use in old age predicts smaller cognitive decline only in men

Bavelier

Maurer

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

Self Cite

“…Specifically, obesity is related to cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders such as diabetes (Bell et al, 2014;Fan et al, 2013), which are risk factors for cognitive impairments in midlife and old age (Carmichael, 2014;Reijmer et al, 2012;Schneider et al, 2015). Thus, one angle of mechanisms may concern potential compensation effects related to cognitive reserve attenuating an increased health risk in terms of chronic diseases and metabolic disorders such as unfavorable blood fat level and hypertension as possible detrimental side-and aftereffects of obesity (for discussions see Ihle, Ghisletta et al, 2018;Ihle, Gouveia, Gouveia, Freitas, Jurema, Machado, et al, 2018;Ihle, Gouveia, Gouveia, Freitas, Jurema, Ornelas, et al, 2018;Ihle, Gouveia, Gouveia, Freitas, Jurema, Tinôco, et al, 2017;Ihle, Gouveia, Gouveia, Freitas, Jurema, Odim, et al, 2017). Another, possibly complementary angle of mechanisms may concern health-related physiological mechanisms mediating between the build-up of cognitive reserve on the one hand and cognitive performance on the other (Arenaza-Urquijo, Wirth, & Chetelat, 2015;Ihle, Oris et al, 2018;Robertson, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We assessed the TMT as a sensitive measure of inter-individual differences in intraindividual cognitive change (e.g. Chen et al, 2001;Ihle, Ghisletta et al, 2018). Yet, we acknowledge that the current study is limited by a relatively short assessment of executive functioning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We analyzed data from 897 community-dwelling individuals who participated in the two waves of the Vivre-Leben-Vivere (VLV) survey (Ihle, Ghisletta, et al, 2018;Ihle et al, 2015;Oris et al, 2016). VLV is a large interdisciplinary survey targeting the life and health conditions of individuals aged 65 and older living in Switzerland.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For further details regarding the rationale, design, recruitment, materials, and data collection procedures of the VLV survey see e.g. Ihle, Ghisletta, et al (2018), Ihle et al (2016), Ludwig et al (2014), and Oris et al (2016). Respondents were first interviewed during 2011 (Wave 1; W1) and again in 2017 (Wave 2; W2) using face-to-face computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) and paper-pencil questionnaires.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The relationship of obesity predicting decline in executive functioning is attenuated with greater leisure activities in old age

Gouveia

et al. 2019

Aging & Mental Health

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Objectives: We investigated the longitudinal relationship between obesity and subsequent decline in executive functioning over six years as measured through performance changes in the Trail Making Test (TMT). We also examined whether this longitudinal relationship differed by key markers of cognitive reserve (education, occupation, and leisure activities), taking into account age, sex, and chronic diseases as covariates. Method: We used latent change score modeling based on longitudinal data from 897 older adults tested on TMT parts A and B in two waves six years apart. Mean age in the first wave was 74.33 years. Participants reported their weight and height (to calculate BMI), education, occupation, leisure activities, and chronic diseases. Results: There was a significant interaction of obesity in the first wave of data collection with leisure activities in the first wave on subsequent latent change. Specifically, obesity in the first wave significantly predicted a steeper subsequent decline in executive functioning over six years in individuals with a low frequency of leisure activities in the first wave. In contrast, in individuals with a high frequency of leisure activities in the first wave, this longitudinal relationship between obesity and subsequent decline in executive functioning was not significant. Conclusion: The longitudinal relationship between obesity and subsequent decline in executive functioning may be attenuated in individuals who have accumulated greater cognitive reserve through an engaged lifestyle in old age. Implications for current cognitive reserve and gerontological research are discussed.

Ageing and Reserves

Withstanding Vulnerability Throughout Adult Life

Gouveia

et al. 2023

In this chapter we elaborate on our conceptual view on vulnerability being the result of insufficient reserve build-up across the life course in various domains (e.g., cognitive reserve and relational reserve). Specifically, we propose that certain individuals are more vulnerable (than other, less vulnerable individuals) to impairments in human functioning because of insufficient reserves accumulated over their life course, which consequently exposes those individuals to greater difficulty to deal with threatening situations in old age in order to offset or prevent negative outcomes. To illustrate our novel perspective with empirical examples, we focus on cognitive and relational reserve domains and their role for cognitive health and well-being as aging outcomes. First, we elaborate on the build-up of these reserve domains across the life course, with a special focus on inter-individual differences in the pathways of reserve accumulation. Second, we concentrate on the role of reserves for human functioning in different groups of vulnerable individuals in old age. Third, we elaborate on the interplay of different reserve domains and their potential joint effects on aging outcomes. Finally, we conclude with an outlook for future research.