Jiang Feng, Kong Fanlei, Li Shixue
Centre for Health Management and Policy Research, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
NHC Key Lab of Health Economics and Policy Research, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
Healthcare (Basel). 2021 Oct 26;9(11):1443. doi: 10.3390/healthcare9111443.
China is currently facing a severe challenge of population ageing. However, no study has specifically explored the association between social support and cognitive impairment in Chinese urban elderly aged 60 and older. We explored the prevalence of cognitive impairment and its relationship with social support among the urban elderly aged above 60 years in Jinan, China. A total of 522 urban elderly individuals were recruited using multi-stage cluster random sampling, of which 35.55% were males and 64.45% were females. The average age of all participants was 69.66 ± 8.91 years old. Social support was assessed using the Social Support Rating Scale. Cognitive status was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires. Descriptive analysis, chi-square tests, and logistic regression analyses were conducted. After analysing the data from 512 participants, 154 (30.1%), 352 (68.8%), and 6 (1.2%) participants had high, moderate, and low levels of social support, respectively. In addition, 125 participants (24.4%) had a cognitive impairment, while the other 387 participants (75.6%) had a normal cognitive status. Binary logistic regression analyses showed that age, educational level, occupation or pre-retirement occupation, and social support were statistically associated with cognitive impairment. A significant association between social support and cognitive impairment was found among the urban elderly in Jinan, China, which provided useful information for the intervention of cognitive impairment. More attention should be paid to the social support of the urban elderly to effectively reduce the occurrence of cognitive impairment.
中国目前正面临着严峻的人口老龄化挑战。然而，尚无研究专门探讨中国60岁及以上城市老年人社会支持与认知障碍之间的关联。我们对中国济南60岁以上城市老年人认知障碍的患病率及其与社会支持的关系进行了探究。采用多阶段整群随机抽样方法共招募了522名城市老年人，其中男性占35.55%，女性占64.45%。所有参与者的平均年龄为69.66±8.91岁。使用社会支持评定量表评估社会支持。使用简易精神状态检查表评估认知状况。通过面对面访谈使用结构化问卷收集数据。进行了描述性分析、卡方检验和逻辑回归分析。在分析了512名参与者的数据后，分别有154名（30.1%）、352名（68.8%）和6名（1.2%）参与者具有高、中、低水平的社会支持。此外，125名参与者（24.4%）存在认知障碍，而其他387名参与者（75.6%）认知状态正常。二元逻辑回归分析表明，年龄、教育水平、职业或退休前职业以及社会支持与认知障碍在统计学上相关。在中国济南的城市老年人中发现社会支持与认知障碍之间存在显著关联，这为认知障碍的干预提供了有用信息。应更加关注城市老年人的社会支持，以有效减少认知障碍的发生。
