Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 3399 Binsheng Road, Binjiang District, Hangzhou 310051, Zhejiang, China.
Tongxiang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 West Zhongshan Road, Wutong Street, Tongxiang 314500, Zhejiang, China.
Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2020 Sep-Oct;90:104120. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2020.104120. Epub 2020 May 21.
This study explored the associations of empty nest and group activity with cognitive impairment in Chinese older adults.
Data were analyzed from 10,349 participants of the second-round survey database of the Zhejiang Ageing and Health Cohort Study aged 60 years and over. Cognitive impairment was assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination questionnaire. Logistic regression models controlled for an extensive range of potential confounders were generated to examine the associations of empty nest and group activity with cognitive impairment.
No association was found between empty nest and cognitive impairment in total participants. However, when stratified by sex, empty nest women were less likely to have cognitive impairment than non-empty nest women, odds ratio (OR) (95 % confidence interval [CI]) (0.846; 0.721, 0.993). Elders who participated in group activities showed significantly lower odds of cognitive impairment than those who never attended group activities, (0.811; 0.723, 0.910). This association remained significant in the 60-69-years group when further stratified by age, with an OR (95 % CI) of 0.616 (0.514, 0.739).
Empty nesters were not vulnerable to poor cognitive function. Participation in group activities was significantly associated with lower odds of cognitive impairment. Prospective studies are needed to assess the effect of empty nest and group activity on the risk of cognitive impairment.
本研究旨在探讨空巢和群体活动与中国老年人认知障碍的关系。
本研究分析了来自“浙江省衰老与健康队列研究”第二轮调查数据库的 10349 名 60 岁及以上参与者的数据。认知障碍采用简易精神状态检查问卷进行评估。采用逻辑回归模型控制了广泛的潜在混杂因素，以检验空巢和群体活动与认知障碍的关系。
在所有参与者中，空巢与认知障碍之间没有关联。然而，按性别分层后，空巢女性发生认知障碍的可能性低于非空巢女性，比值比（OR）（95%置信区间[CI]）（0.846；0.721，0.993）。与从未参加过群体活动的老年人相比，参加过群体活动的老年人认知障碍的几率明显较低，OR（95%CI）为 0.811（0.723，0.910）。当进一步按年龄分层时，在 60-69 岁年龄组中这种关联仍然显著，OR（95%CI）为 0.616（0.514，0.739）。
空巢老人不易出现认知功能下降。参加群体活动与认知障碍的几率降低显著相关。需要前瞻性研究来评估空巢和群体活动对认知障碍风险的影响。
