The mix matters: Complex personal networks relate to higher cognitive functioning in old age

Social Science and Medicine

Volumn 125, Issue , 2015, Pages 107-115

  Ellwardt, Lea ^a   Van Tilburg, Theo G ^b   Aartsen, Marja J ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF GRONINGEN   (Netherlands)

^b VU UNIVERSITY AMSTERDAM   (Netherlands)

Author keywords

Cognitive functioning; Longitudinal study; Network complexity; Social roles

Indexed keywords

BRAIN; COGNITION; ELDERLY POPULATION; SOCIAL NETWORK;

ADULT; AGED; ARTICLE; BRAIN FUNCTION; COGNITION; CONTROLLED STUDY; FAMILY; FEMALE; FOLLOW UP; HOUSEHOLD; HUMAN; LONGITUDINAL STUDY; MALE; MINI MENTAL STATE EXAMINATION; NEIGHBORHOOD; REGRESSION ANALYSIS; SCHOOL; SENESCENCE; SOCIAL INTERACTION; SOCIAL NETWORK; SOCIOLOGY; VERY ELDERLY; WORK; AGING; DEMENTIA; HEALTH SURVEY; MIDDLE AGED; NETHERLANDS; NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TEST; PSYCHOLOGY; SOCIAL SUPPORT;

AGED; AGED, 80 AND OVER; AGING; COGNITION; DEMENTIA; FEMALE; HEALTH SURVEYS; HUMANS; LONGITUDINAL STUDIES; MALE; MIDDLE AGED; NETHERLANDS; NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS; SOCIAL SUPPORT;

EID: 84919913731     PISSN: 02779536     EISSN: 18735347     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.05.007     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. Aartsen M.J., Smits C., Van Tilburg T.G., Knipscheer K., Deeg D. Activity in older adults: cause or consequence of cognitive functioning? A longitudinal study on everyday activities and cognitive performance in older adults. J.Gerontol. Ser. B 2002, 57(2):P153-P162.
2. Aartsen M.J., Van Tilburg T.G., Smits C.H.M., Knipscheer K.C.P.M. Alongitudinal study of the impact of physical and cognitive decline on the personal network in old age. J.Soc. Pers. Relatsh. 2004, 21(2):249-266.
3. Amieva H., Stoykova R., Matharan F., Helmer C., Antonucci T.C., Dartigues J. 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. Psychosom. Med. 2010, 72(9):905-911.
4. Anguera J.A., Boccanfuso J., Rintoul J.L., Al-Hashimi O., Faraji J., Janowich J., et al. Video game training enhances cognitive control in older adults. Nature 2013, 501.
5. Antonucci T.C., Lansford J., Smith J., Baltes M., Akiyama H., Takahashi K., et al. Widowhood and illness: a comparison of social network characteristics in France, Germany, Japan, and the United States. Psychol. Aging 2001, 16(4):655-665.
6. Barefoot J., Gronbaek M., Jensen G., Schnohr P., Prescott E. Social network diversity and risks of ischemic heart disease and total mortality: findings from the Copenhagen City Heart Study. Am. J. Epidemiol. 2005, 161(10):960-967.
7. Barnes L., Mendes de Leon C., Wilson R.S., Bienias J., Evans D. Social resources and cognitive decline in a population of older African Americans and Whites. Neurology 2004, 63(12):2322-2326.
8. Bassuk S., Glass T., Berkman L.F. Social disengagement and incident cognitive decline in community-dwelling elderly persons. Ann. Intern. Med. 1999, 131(3):165-173.
9. Bennett D., Schneider J., Tang Y., Arnold S., Wilson R. The effect of social networks on the relation between Alzheimer's disease pathology and level of cognitive function in old people: a longitudinal cohort study. Lancet Neurology 2006, 5(5):406-412.
10. Berkman L.F., Syme S.L. Social networks, host-resistance, and mortality - 9-year follow-up-study of Alameda county residents. Am. J. Epidemiol. 1979, 109(2):186-204.
11. Berkman L.F., Glass T., Brissette I., Seeman T. From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium. Soc. Sci. Med. 2000, 51(6):843-857.
12. Bosma H., Van Boxtel M., Ponds R., Houx P., Burdorf A., Jolles J. Mental work demands protect against cognitive impairment: MAAS prospective cohort study. Exp. Aging Res. 2003, 29(1):33-45.
13. Broese van Groenou M., Hoogendijk E.O., Van Tilburg T.G. Continued and new personal relationships in later life: differential effects of health. J.Aging Health 2013, 25(2):274-295.
14. Cacioppo J.T., Norris C.J., Decety J., Monteleone G., Nusbaum H. In the eye of the beholder: individual differences in perceived social isolation predict regional brain activation to social stimuli. J.Cognit. Neurosci. 2009, 21(1):83-92.
15. Carstensen L. Motivation for social contact across the life-span - a theory of socioemotional selectivity. Neb. Symp. Motiv. 1993, 40:209-254.
16. Cohen S., Janicki-Deverts D. Can we improve our physical health by altering our social networks?. Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 2009, 4(4):375-378.
17. Cohen S., Doyle W., Skoner D., Rabin B., Gwaltney J. Social ties and susceptibility to the common cold. J.Am. Med. Assoc. 1997, 277(24):1940-1944.
18. Crooks V.C., Lubben J., Petitti D.B., Little D., Chiu V. Social network, cognitive function, and dementia incidence among elderly women. Am. J. Public Health 2008, 98(7):1221-1227.
19. Cullen B., Fahy S., Cunningham C., Coen R., Bruce I., Greene E., et al. Screening for dementia in an Irish community sample using MMSE: a comparison of norm-adjusted versus fixed cut-points. Int. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 2005, 20(4):371-376.
20. Dickinson W.J., Potter G.G., Hybels C.F., McQuoid D.R., Steffens D.C. Change in stress and social support as predictors of cognitive decline in older adults with and without depression. Int. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 2011, 26(12):1267-1274.
21. Ellwardt L., Aartsen M.J., Deeg D.J.H., Steverink N. Does loneliness mediate the relation between social support and cognitive functioning in later life?. Soc. Sci. Med. 2013, 98:116-124.
22. Ertel K.A., Glymour M.M., Berkman L.F. Effects of social integration on preserving memory function in a nationally representative US elderly population. Am. J. Public Health 2008, 98(7):1215-1220.
23. Escobar-Bravo M., Puga-Gonzalez D., Martin-Baranera M. Protective effects of social networks on disability among older adults in Spain. Arch. Gerontol. Geriatr. 2012, 54(1):109-116.
24. Fiori K.L., Smith J., Antonucci T.C. Social network types among older adults: a multidimensional approach. J.Gerontol. Ser. B 2007, 62(6):P322-P330.
25. Fratiglioni L., Paillard-Borg S., Winblad B. An active and socially integrated lifestyle in late life might protect against dementia. Lancet Neurology 2004, 3(6):343-353.
26. Fratiglioni L., Wang H., Ericsson K., Maytan M., Winblad B. Influence of social network on occurrence of dementia: a community-based longitudinal study. Lancet 2000, 355(9212):1315-1319.
27. Giles L.C., Anstey K.J., Walker R.B., Luszcz M.A. Social networks and memory over 15 years of follow up in a cohort of older Australians: results from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing. J.Aging Res. 2012, (856048):1-7.
28. Glass T., Mendes de Leon C., Seeman T., Berkman L.F. Beyond single indicators of social networks: a LISREL analysis of social ties among the elderly. Soc. Sci. Med. 1997, 44(10):1503-1517.
29. Green A.F., Rebok G., Lyketsos C.G. Influence of social network characteristics on cognition and functional status with aging. Int. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 2008, 23(9):972-978.
30. Guiaux M., Van Tilburg T.G., Broese van Groenou M. Changes in contact and support exchange in personal networks after widowhood. Pers. Relatsh. 2007, 14(3):457-473.
31. Haines V., Hurlbert J. Network range and health. J.Health Soc. Behav. 1992, 33(3):254-266.
32. Helmer C., Damon D., Letenneur L., Fabrigoule C., Barberger-Gateau P., Lafont S., et al. Marital status and risk of Alzheimer's disease: a French population-based cohort study. Neurology 1999, 53(9):1953-1958.
33. Holtzman R., Rebok G., Saczynski J., Kouzis A., Doyle K., Eaton W. Social network characteristics and cognition in middle-aged and older adults. J.Gerontol. Ser. B 2004, 59(6):P278-P284.
34. House J., Landis K., Umberson D. Social relationships and health. Science 1988, 241(4865):540-545.
35. Hughes T.F., Andel R., Small B.J., Borenstein A.R., Mortimer J.A. The association between social resources and cognitive change in older adults: evidence from the Charlotte County Healthy Aging Study. J.Gerontol. Ser. B 2008, 63(4):P241-P244.
36. Huisman M., Poppelaars J., Van der Horst M., Beekman A.T.F., Brug J., Van Tilburg T.G., et al. Cohort profile: the longitudinal aging study Amsterdam. Int. J. Epidemiol. 2011, 40(4):868-876.
37. Hultsch D., Hertzog C., Small B., Dixon R. Use it or lose it: engaged lifestyle as a buffer of cognitive decline in aging?. Psychol. Aging 1999, 14(2):245-263.
38. James B.D., Wilson R.S., Barnes L.L., Bennett D.A. Late-life social activity and cognitive decline in old age. J.Int. Neuropsychol. Soc. 2011, 17(6):998-1005.
39. Katz S., Ford A., Moskowitz R., Jackson B., Jaffe M. Studies of illness in the aged - the index of ADL - a standardized measure of biological and psychosocial function. J.Am. Med. Assoc. 1963, 185(12):914-919.
40. Katzman R. Can late-life social or leisure activities delay the onset of dementia?. J.Am. Geriatr. Soc. 1995, 43(5):583-584.
41. Kempermann G., Gast D., Gage F. Neuroplasticity in old age: sustained fivefold induction of hippocampal neurogenesis by long-term environmental enrichment. Ann. Neurol. 2002, 52(2):135-143.
42. Living Arrangements and Social Networks of Older Adults 1995, VU University Press, Amsterdam. C.P.M. Knipscheer, J. De Jong Gierveld, T.G. Van Tilburg, P.A. Dykstra (Eds.).
43. Krueger K.R., Wilson R.S., Kamenetsky J.M., Barnes L.L., Bienias J.L., Bennett D.A. Social engagement and cognitive function in old age. Exp. Aging Res. 2009, 35(1):45-60.
44. Litwin H., Shiovitz-Ezra S. Network type and mortality risk in later life. Gerontologist 2006, 46(6):735-743.
45. Rabe-Hesketh S., Skrondal A. Multilevel and Longitudinal Modeling Using Stata. Categorical Responses, Counts, and Survival 2012, vol. II. Stata Press, College Station, Texas. third ed.
46. Schooler C. Psychological effects of complex environments during the life span: a review and theory. Cognitive Functioning and Social Structure over the Life Course 1987, 24-49. Ablex, Norwood, NJ. C. Schooler, K.W. Schaie (Eds.).
47. Schooler C., Mulatu M. The reciprocal effects of leisure time activities and intellectual functioning in older people: a longitudinal analysis. Psychol. Aging 2001, 16(3):466-482.
48. Schooler C., Mulatu M., Oates G. The continuing effects of substantively complex work on the intellectual functioning of older workers. Psychol. Aging 1999, 14(3):483-506.
49. Seeman T.E., Lusignolo T.M., Albert M., Berkman L.F. Social relationships, social support, and patterns of cognitive aging in healthy, high-functioning older adults: MacArthur studies of successful aging. Health Psychol. 2001, 20(4):243-255.
50. Stephens C., Alpass F., Towers A., Stevenson B. The effects of types of social networks, perceived social support, and loneliness on the health of older people: accounting for the social context. J.Aging Health 2011, 23(6):887-911.
51. Stern Y. What is cognitive reserve? Theory and research application of the reserve concept. J.Int. Neuropsychol. Soc. 2002, 8(3):448-460.
52. Stevens N.L., Van Tilburg T.G. Cohort differences in having and retaining friends in personal networks in later life. J.Soc. Pers. Relatsh. 2011, 28(1):24-43.
53. Tombaugh T., McIntyre N. The mini-mental-state-examination - a comprehensive review. J.Am. Geriatr. Soc. 1992, 40(9):922-935.
54. Troxel W.M., Buysse D.J., Hall M., Kamarck T.W., Strollo P.J., Owens J.F., et al. Social integration, social contacts, and blood pressure dipping in African-Americans and Whites. J.Hypertens. 2010, 28(2):265-271.
55. Uchino B., Holt-Lunstad J., Smith T., Bloor L. Heterogeneity in social networks: a comparison of different models linking relationships to psychological outcomes. J.Soc. Clin. Psychol. 2004, 23(2):123-139.
56. Valenzuela M.J., Matthews F.E., Brayne C., Ince P., Halliday G., Kril J.J., et al. Multiple biological pathways link cognitive lifestyle to protection from dementia. Biol. Psychiatry 2012, 71(9):783-791.
57. Van Tilburg T.G. Losing and gaining in old age: changes in personal network size and social support in a four-year longitudinal study. J.Gerontol. Ser. B 1998, 53(6):S313-S323.
58. Wang H., Karp A., Winblad B., Fratiglioni L. Late-life engagement in social and leisure activities is associated with a decreased risk of dementia: a longitudinal study from the Kungsholmen Project. Am. J. Epidemiol. 2002, 155(12):1081-1087.
59. Wilson R.S., Begeny C.T., Boyle P.A., Schneider J.A., Bennett D.A. Vulnerability to stress, anxiety, and development of dementia in old age. Am. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 2011, 19(4):327-334.
60. Wilson R.S., Krueger K.R., Arnold S.E., Schneider J.A., Kelly J.F., Barnes L.L., et al. Loneliness and risk of Alzheimer disease. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 2007, 64(2):234-240.
61. Wrzus C., Haenel M., Wagner J., Neyer F.J. Social network changes and life events across the life span: a meta-analysis. Psychol. Bull. 2013, 139(1):53-80.
62. Zettel L., Rook K. Substitution and compensation in the social networks of older widowed women. Psychol. Aging 2004, 19(3):433-443.
63. Zunzunegui M., Alvarado B., Del Ser T., Otero A. Social networks, social integration, and social engagement determine cognitive decline in community-dwelling Spanish older adults. J.Gerontol. Ser. B 2003, 58(2):S93-S100.