Journal article
The influence of social support on cognitive health in older women: a Women's Health Initiative study
Journal of women & aging, Vol.34(3), pp.394-410
07/10/2021
DOI: 10.1080/08952841.2021.1945368
PMCID: PMC8743299
PMID: 34252006
Abstract
Social support is associated prospectively with cognitive decline and dementia among the elderly; however, little is known about the impact of social support on healthy neurological aging. The current study investigates whether perceived social support has an influence on neurological health among a large sample of healthy postmenopausal women. Social support and neuropsychological outcomes were measured annually for six years through the Women's Health Initiative Study of Cognitive Aging. In postmenopausal women, higher perceived social support was associated with significantly better overall neuropsychological functioning at baseline, especially in the domains of short-delay figural memory, short-delay verbal memory, and semantic fluency. No significant associations were found between social support and longitudinal changes in neuropsychological function over a median follow-up period of six years. Additionally, there was no significant relationship between social support and regional brain volumes. These findings suggest that social support is related to performance in a subset of neuropsychological domains and contributes to the existing literature that points to the importance of social support as a modifiable lifestyle factor that has the potential to help protect against the decline of cognitive aging, specifically among older adult women.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The influence of social support on cognitive health in older women: a Women's Health Initiative study
- Creators
- Georgina L Moreno - University of Houston-Clear LakeEric Ammann - Johnson & JohnsonErin T Kaseda - Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and ScienceMark A Espeland - Wake Forest University Health SciencesRobert Wallace - University of Iowa Carver College of MedicineJennifer Robinson - University of Iowa Carver College of MedicineNatalie L Denburg - University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of women & aging, Vol.34(3), pp.394-410
- DOI
- 10.1080/08952841.2021.1945368
- PMID
- 34252006
- PMCID
- PMC8743299
- NLM abbreviation
- J Women Aging
- ISSN
- 0895-2841
- eISSN
- 1540-7322
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 07/10/2021
- Academic Unit
- Neurology; Epidemiology; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center; Injury Prevention Research Center; Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984105799002771
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