School of Management, Shanxi Medical University, 56 Xinjian South Road, Taiyuan 030001, China.
School of Health Humanities, Peking University, 38 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 100191, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Dec 21;19(1):13. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19010013.
Cognitive impairment is a severe health problem faced by older adults and their families, as well as the countries in which they live. Differences in place of residence may contribute to differences in the cognitive function of older adults, and the mediating effect of social participation has rarely been studied in China. A total of 10,014 older adult participants were included, using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Place of residence was described as either a city, town, or rural area. The frequency of participation in organized social activities and visits and interactions with friends was used to assess both formal and informal social participation. The Chinese version of a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used as a measure of cognitive function. The mediation analysis was conducted using Hayes' process version 3.4 on SPSS (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). Place of residence had a negative effect on cognitive function in older adults. The mediating functions of both informal (a1b1 = 0.199) and formal (a2b2 = -0.056) social participation indicate a suppression effect on the part of informal social participation and a partial mediation effect on the part of formal social participation in terms of the association between place of residence and cognitive function in older adults. Promoting both informal and formal social participation seems to be an important strategy for preventing a decline in the cognitive function of older adults, especially for those living in rural areas.
认知障碍是老年人及其家庭以及他们所在国家面临的严重健康问题。居住地点的差异可能导致老年人认知功能的差异，而在中国，很少有研究关注社会参与的中介作用。本研究共纳入 10014 名老年参与者，数据来自中国长寿纵向研究（CLHLS）。居住地点描述为城市、城镇或农村地区。有组织的社会活动和与朋友的访问和互动的频率用于评估正式和非正式的社会参与。中文版的简易精神状态检查（MMSE）用于评估认知功能。使用 IBM（美国纽约州阿蒙克）的 SPSS 过程版本 3.4 进行中介分析。居住地点对老年人的认知功能有负面影响。非正式（a1b1=0.199）和正式（a2b2=-0.056）社会参与的中介功能表明，非正式社会参与对居住地点与老年人认知功能之间的关联具有抑制作用，而正式社会参与具有部分中介作用。促进非正式和正式的社会参与似乎是预防老年人认知功能下降的重要策略，特别是对居住在农村地区的老年人。
