Repository logo
 

Lifestyle activities in mid-life contribute to cognitive reserve in late-life, independent of education, occupation and late-life activities

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

No Thumbnail Available

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Shafto, Meredith 
Spink, Molly 

Abstract

This study tested the hypothesis that mid-life intellectual, physical and social activities contribute to cognitive reserve (CR). Two hundred and five individuals (196 with MRI) aged 66-88 from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (www.cam-can.com) were studied, with cognitive ability and structural brain health measured as fluid IQ and total grey matter volume, respectively. Mid-life activities were measured using the Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire. Multivariable linear regression found that mid-life activities (MA) made a unique contribution to late-life cognitive ability independent of education, occupation and late-life activities. Crucially, MA moderated the relationship between late-life cognitive ability and brain health, with the cognitive ability of people with higher MA less dependent on their brain structure, consistent with the concept of CR.

In conclusion, mid-life activities contribute uniquely to CR. The modifiability of these activities has implications for public health initiatives aimed at dementia prevention.

Description

Keywords

Ageing, Cognitive reserve, Dementia, Lifestyle, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Brain, Cognitive Reserve, Educational Status, Employment, Female, Gray Matter, Humans, Life Style, Male

Journal Title

Neurobiology of Aging

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0197-4580
1558-1497

Volume Title

70

Publisher

Elsevier
Sponsorship
MRC (unknown)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/H008217/1)
European Commission (732592)
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00005/8)
Medical Research Council (MC_UP_1401/1)
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00005/9)
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00005/12)
Cambridge NIHR Biomedical Research Centre
Relationships
Is derived from: