Clustering of Behavioral Changes and Their Associations With Cognitive Decline in Older Adults

Abstract

Objectives: To examine (1) the clustering of reduced falls-efficacy, social withdrawal, and physical activity withdrawal in Irish adults aged 50 years and older, and (2) the concurrent and prospective associations of these clustered behaviors with cognitive decline.

Design: Longitudinal cohort study.

Setting and participants: Data were from 4571 participants (mean age 64.5 ± 8.6, 54.9% women) in The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, a population-based study.

Methods: Changes in social and physical activity and falls-efficacy from 2012/2013 to 2014/2015 were used to define the behaviors of social withdrawal, physical activity withdrawal, and reduced falls-efficacy. Patterns of behaviors were associated with concurrent (2012/2013-2014/2015) and prospective (2014/2015-2016/2017) changes in immediate recall, delayed recall, and verbal fluency using random effects mixed models.

Results: Eighty-six percent of participants had social withdrawal, physical activity withdrawal, or reduced falls-efficacy, and 15% had all 3 behaviors. Participants with all 3 behaviors showed the greatest declines in immediate recall (concurrent: B = -0.51, confidence interval [CI] = -0.77 to -0.25; prospective: B = -0.51, CI = -0.78 to -0.25), delayed recall (concurrent: B = -0.40, CI = -0.61 to -0.18; prospective: B = -0.47, CI = -0.69 to -0.25) and verbal fluency (concurrent: B = -1.05, CI = -1.58 to -0.52; prospective: B = -1.29, CI = -1.83 to -0.74).

Conclusions and implications: The clustering of social withdrawal, physical activity withdrawal, and reduced falls-efficacy is common. Presence of multiple behaviors was associated with greater cognitive declines, suggesting a cumulative association of these behaviors with cognitive decline. These findings guide (1) identification of vulnerable groups, (2) intervention design, and (3) care planning for people presenting with 1 or more of these changes in behavior.

Keywords: Social participation; executive function; falls-efficacy; fear of falling; memory; physical activity.