Cognitive Reserve Mediates the Relation between Neighborhood Socio-Economic Position and Cognitive Decline.

INTRODUCTION

We investigated the mediating role of leisure activity engagement as marker of cognitive reserve in the relation between neighborhood socio-economic position (SEP) and cognitive decline over 6 years.

METHODS

The study analyzed longitudinal data from 897 older adults who participated in the two waves (2011 and 2017) of the Vivre-Leben-Vivere (VLV) survey in Switzerland ( = 74.33 years in the first wave). Trail Making Test parts A and B were administered in both waves. Leisure activity engagement was assessed during interviews. Neighborhood SEP was derived from the Swiss Neighborhood Index of Socio-Economic Position (Swiss-SEP), provided by the Swiss National Cohort (SNC).

RESULTS

Latent change score modeling revealed that 42.5% of the relationship between higher neighborhood SEP and smaller cognitive decline was mediated via a higher frequency of leisure activities in the first wave.

CONCLUSION

Neighborhood SEP constitutes an important contextual factor potentially influencing the pathways of cognitive reserve accumulation and, therefore, should be taken into account to better understand their effects on cognitive decline in old age.