Cognitive Reserve Mediates the Relation between Neighborhood Socio-Economic Position and Cognitive Decline

Andreas Ihle; Rainer Gabriel; Michel Oris; Élvio R Gouveia; Bruna R Gouveia; Adilson Marques; Priscila Marconcin; Matthias Kliegel

doi:10.1159/000521905

Cognitive Reserve Mediates the Relation between Neighborhood Socio-Economic Position and Cognitive Decline

Dement Geriatr Cogn Dis Extra. 2022 May 3;12(2):90-93. doi: 10.1159/000521905. eCollection 2022 May-Aug.

Authors

Andreas Ihle^{1

2

3}, Rainer Gabriel^{2

3

4}, Michel Oris^{2

3}, Élvio R Gouveia^{2

5

6}, Bruna R Gouveia^{2

6

7

8}, Adilson Marques^{9

10}, Priscila Marconcin^{11

12}, Matthias Kliegel^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Cognitive Aging Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
² Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
³ Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES - Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁴ School of Social Work, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Winterthur, Switzerland.
⁵ Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal.
⁶ LARSyS, Interactive Technologies Institute, Funchal, Portugal.
⁷ Saint Joseph of Cluny Higher School of Nursing, Funchal, Portugal.
⁸ Regional Directorate of Health, Secretary of Health of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal.
⁹ CIPER, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
¹⁰ ISAMB, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
¹¹ Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
¹² KinesioLab, Research Unit in Human Movement Analysis, Piaget Institute, Almada, Portugal.

Abstract

Introduction: We investigated the mediating role of leisure activity engagement as marker of cognitive reserve in the relation between neighborhood socio-economic position (SEP) and cognitive decline over 6 years.

Methods: The study analyzed longitudinal data from 897 older adults who participated in the two waves (2011 and 2017) of the Vivre-Leben-Vivere (VLV) survey in Switzerland (M = 74.33 years in the first wave). Trail Making Test parts A and B were administered in both waves. Leisure activity engagement was assessed during interviews. Neighborhood SEP was derived from the Swiss Neighborhood Index of Socio-Economic Position (Swiss-SEP), provided by the Swiss National Cohort (SNC).

Results: Latent change score modeling revealed that 42.5% of the relationship between higher neighborhood SEP and smaller cognitive decline was mediated via a higher frequency of leisure activities in the first wave.

Conclusion: Neighborhood SEP constitutes an important contextual factor potentially influencing the pathways of cognitive reserve accumulation and, therefore, should be taken into account to better understand their effects on cognitive decline in old age.

Keywords: Activity engagement; Cognitive decline; Cognitive reserve; Longitudinal study; Neighborhood socio-economic position; Old age.